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The Bunny Brigade: Learning about Raising a Tiny Fluffle

I have been bunny-sitting a few fosters lately. These three are my latest. Two of them, Inky (gray) and Cosmo (white), came to me at five weeks. Indy (black and white) came to me at six weeks. They are littermates and get along FABULOUSLY!

I don’t have much experience with baby rabbits, so I learned a lot about babies that I would like to share with you!

They are:

  • Wobbly walkers
  • Flippy tippies
  • THE SNEEZE
  • Breakout
  • Drop and stops
  • Zoom fumes

Wobbly Walkers: It was amazing watching these babies run around with split-second precision. But from time to time, I would see teeny, tiny wobbles in their walking! I realized that babies are a little wobbly sometimes, and the last of the baby wobbles were working themselves out. Sure enough, after a few days, no more wobbles.

Flippy Tippies: This is when the tips of a baby bunny’s ears don’t stand up quite straight. I came home to find flippy tippies on Inky. I was reassured that it was quite benign! Inky’s adorable ears were back to normal in a few hours.

THE SNEEZE: Cosmo was doing zoomies (very fast sprints in circles) and got carried away. She face-planted into her hay and then… she lifted her head… and… AAACHOOO!! I watched her carefully to make sure she wasn’t sick. Nope. She just got a face full of hay and needed to sneeze it out.

Breakout: Baby bunnies can fit through very tiny spaces and they are genetically-engineered escape artists. I missed a small gap and soon, I was chasing a tiny bunny puff around the living room. It was Inky! He also managed to pole vault right over a panel after pushing it so it leaned just a little bit. This led to the drop and stops.

Drop and Stops: Once Inky had figured out how to scale a wall, she assumed she could do it again, even though I fixed it. Up she hopped, only to fall short and slide back down. She sat there, staring at me, completely still. She did this a couple of times. I became alarmed. Was she hurt? It was my fault! I encouraged her to escape and contributed to the delinquency of a minor! All of a sudden, Inky decided it was no longer worth it to hop the fence (which was a smooth, plastic baby gate) and decided to join her brother to munch on delicious hay. All was well.

Zoom Fumes: Baby bunnies LOVE to do zoomies! Zoomies are when bunnies run as fast as they can, many times in circles. It is one expression of joy and fun. Harlowe does it all the time! Baby bunnies tire quickly, and many times after they zoom, they can be pretty tuckered out. They sit in one place or even fall asleep on the spot! I call them zoom fumes, that tiny bit of energy left over after a fun run.

Babies grow very fast. Tomorrow, I will be building them a bigger enclosure. I have been planning it for a few days. It won’t take too much work or time, but it will help keep them safe and accommodate their growth. They have toys, they like to jump on and off stuff, hide, snuggle, and of course, eat! It has been so much fun watching them grow.