Monitoring Bunny Behaviour

It's a full time job monitoring bunnies.  They can be just as adventurous as  toddlers!  I have to teach Storm where he can and can't dig (they have to be able to dig somewhere...just like toddlers!).

I have to make sure he is not eating things he shouldn't.  I worked out that if I had the end of the hose in a plant pot pointing in his direction, then I walked over to the tap and turned it on, I didn't get blamed for actually hosing Storm, and he would run over and take refuge from the hose at my feet.  Love it!

I had to also check that he didn't have anyway of escaping from the yard.  I'm sure Charcoal would have found a way out, but Storm has a completely different mind and temperament.  He is a little stubborn when he wants to be.

 A good place to dig.

 So he dug.  Clever boy, he worked out that if you dig the dirt into the garden, Mummy Bunny won't have to sweep it all up again from the concrete!

 When Storm is stretched out like this, he is approachable.  I love how they flop out like this.  They do it so quickly, but it means they're at ease around you.  He is still a little wary as he has his front paws under him, but this is still quite relaxed for Storm. 

A very contented bunny.

Bunny Training a One Year Old

Well...Storm is much older than that in bunny years, but he still has hormones raging like crazy. Even though he was very carefully treated when he was a baby bunny, he was timid and not very trusting.  I think the hardest thing for him was to be separated from his mother.  He really didn't like that, but the end of the following week he could have impregnated his mother and sisters, and I couldn't let that happen!

Just over a year later, with lots of training and patience he has finally decided that we are his 'family', and we will not pick him up unless we absolutely have to.

I have had to watch him and learn his behaviour as well, because it is so different from the way Charcoal was.

For instance:

From the start Charcoal was a very friendly natured bunny and absolutely adored being patted.

He had a very relaxed nature, and was extremely easy to train.  A liking for chocolate was an added bonus.  It made it easy to reward him for good behaviour.

Storm is a very wary bunny. He is still friendly, but very timid.

He doesn't like chocolate (probably a good thing!), or carrots, or anything sweet.  He does like some lettuce but mainly loves his bunny food...and that's it.  Being out in the garden is actually beneficial to him.  He has been munching on other things he wouldn't normally have, and has decided he likes some things that are growing out there that he is allowed to eat.  Hooray!

Anyway, I have been letting him out in the back garden every day this week without a leash so I can monitor him, and watch and get to know his bunny behaviour, and this is what I have learned:-

 When Storm lies down like this, he is really asking for a pat.  A LONG pat!

 So to teach him that humans are friends and not predators, I sat down with him and patted him.  And patted him.  And patted him.

 How much does that bunny love his head scratched!

 So much he was dribbling.  LOL!

 LOTS of dribble!

 And then it gets funny.  He gets up to clean my 'hand oil' off his fur, kind of the same way after I have cuddled him I get rid of his bunny fur off me.

More pats please!

How could you not love this face :D

Cleaning Basket and other Bathroom cleaning tips

I think I picked up this tip whilst watching Anthea Turner on 'Perfect Housewife'.  I have her books and she mentions it in them too (I'm not even close to being a perfect housewife! ;D )

It is so much easier to clean bathrooms when you have everything you need in one basket.  I have three bathrooms in this place, and I just carry this basket wherever it is needed.  Usually the only other thing I need are my cleaning cloths (aka retired cloth nappies).

 I have toilet cleaner, lemon scented Jiff, antibacterial wipes, a bleach solution, a citrus spray and an assortment of brushes in a small bucket.

These are the cleaning tools I used to scrub the grout in the bathroom.

I mixed up some Jiff with some water in the little blue bucket, then used the blue handled brush to scrub the grout.  I think I purchased that brush from Big W, and it is specifically designed to scrub grout.  It isn't soft like a toothbrush, but it isn't rough like a wire brush either.

The reason I used this brush is because mould has little 'roots' that get right into the grout.  If you only bleach the surface of the mould, it is still there and will 'appear' again quickly.

Although it's not pleasant work, I scrubbed the grout thoroughly first, then sprayed the grout (trying really hard to avoid the surface of the tiles) with the spray bottle that is clearly labelled (so I know exactly what has been in that bottle).  I used about 1/4 cup bleach to 1 1/2 cups water - a fairly strong solution.  You don't want to put straight bleach on because it can run down your tiles and discolour your bathtub.  I found out the hard way.  Long story ;D

Rinse everything thoroughly and it should be sparkling clean.

I usually use a natural cleaning solution in my bathroom, but every now and then it really needs a good going over with the strong stuff.  I think this was the messiest my bathroom has ever been!

Once it is clean, it is much easier to maintain.  At least, that's what I'm telling myself ;D

A Little Bathroom Magic

I have been itching to get to scrubbing my bathroom for a while now, but I haven't had the time, energy or arm strength to be able to do it.  Well, yesterday I tackled it.

 There was mould growing on the top of the walls and a little on the ceiling. A sign of inadequate ventilation!  Mould is now gone :D

 How disgraceful!  The outside of my bathroom windows are really dirty!  Window cleaning day is tomorrow.

 During a pregnancy dippy moment, I decided to paint the window and door frames this colour.  It was over 10 years ago!  And now the paint is starting to peel.  Time for a good scrub down, and soon we will repaint back to white.

 I can't tell you how sore my arms were after using this broom and some soap suds to scrub down all the painted walls.  The effect of nice clean walls was well worth it!

 No mould!

 The bad side where I hadn't cleaned/scrubbed yet.

Halfway through cleaning.  I had scrubbed the grout with some water mixed with Jiff.  After this photo was taken I bleached the grout. It is now all sparkling white :D

The only thing left to do is clean the bathtub and scrub down the grout between the tiles on the floor (which aren't bad, just needs a good clean where the steam mop won't reach).  Oh, and clean the outside of those windows!

Bunnies Behaving...and a nice end to the day

On Tuesday I let Storm hop around for the afternoon.  It isn't good for him to be cooped up in his hutch all the time, and this is how he learns what he is allowed to do, and what he definitely cannot do.

 He is allowed to eat food we give him

 He can choose to ignore us when we give him yummy things especially if he is trying to find a nice cool spot to relax in.

 He is not allowed to sit his big fat furry behind in my pot plants just like his father used to!

 He is allowed to hop around my feet in circles showing me he loves me, even though it makes me very dizzy.

 And...

 He is allowed to be a very sociable bunny, and allow us to give him lots of cuddles, so long as we don't pick him up ;D

This was a gorgeous sunset we enjoyed.  It was more vibrant than this, with a little more orange, but my camera didn't pick it up, sadly.  Once the sun starts setting, boy does it set really quickly!

Dear Blogger,

Why are you broken?  I can't upload any photos because the little 'button' doesn't come up.  Tried a few different computers at my place, and none of them bring that up, so I know it's not on my end.

Oh well, I'll have to postpone my post for another day.

I will however send a shout out to my gorgeous sister who gave birth a few days ago to an absolutely adorable and healthy baby boy.  CONGRATULATIONS!!!

Slim Pickings

Still enjoying the school holidays here!  I am continuing my Summer clean, and went through the things at the top of my built in wardrobes in my bedroom yesterday.  I was surprised.  I thought there was more.  Turns out the entire top shelf is empty. :D

So out to the garden I went.  To potter around.  My favourite thing to do.  I noticed that the top of a carrot was sticking up out of the ground, and it looked about the right size.  So I pulled it up, and this is what I got...

 Oh Mother Nature, you have a wicked sense of humour!

It did look like a really nice carrot from the top, but unfortunately there wasn't much to it.  We ate it with some other store-bought carrots for dinner as the other ones in the garden aren't ready.

 Something in my potato box smelled a little on the nose.  I had bought a big 4 kg bag of potatoes 2 weeks ago, and I figured it was at least one of those gone bad.  I hadn't even opened the bag!

I tipped the entire bag in the sink and started washing them.

 In the drainer to dry, then I patted them completely dry with an old tea-towel.

One of the smelly offenders.  Turns out there were three of them.  Now I have to use the rest of the bag up fairly quickly.  Good thing I have a book full of potato recipes :D