15 September 2007 by Lindsay

Who can live in a home without bunnies? Obviously not us and a gorgeous little bunny called Fern has joined our family.

We had decided to get another bunny a few weeks before Fern joined our family. Our intention was to adopt a full size bunny from a rehoming centre, who would live as a house rabbit and be spoiled rotten. We no longer had the run or cages we had for our previous bunnies, so we had to buy cage. We headed off to our local pet store, where we found a lovely big cage. There was only one problem, it was so big we couldn’t fit it in our car!

There was another problem as well. The pet store we visited had started an adoption centre where they housed and rehomed peoples unwanted pets. They had a beautiful two year old Dutch bunny, called Lucy. She was just what we were looking for, but unfortunately we didn’t have a cage for her so we couldn’t bring her home with us.

At home I found an online pet store that sold the cage we wanted, so we had it delivered. We went back to get Lucy, but she had been lucky enough to find a new home and Fern had taken her place. I wasn’t sure because we had planned to adopt a full size rabbit, and Fern is definitely not a big bunny, but she is agouti (wild bunny coloured). If there is one thing Derek can’t resist it is agouti bunnies, and so Fern joined our family.

Fern is ten weeks old and she is small like a dwarf bunny, but she has the biggest ears I have ever seen on any rabbit and what seems like a personality to match. At ten weeks we don’t know how much more Fern is going to grow, or if she will ever grow into those ears.

23 September 2007 by Lindsay

Our little Fern has been having trouble jumping in and out of her cage and she keeps getting her toes caught in the open doorway. Rather than wait for Fern to hurt herself, Derek has made her a fancy wooden ramp, so Fern can hop in and out of her cage whenever she wants.

Fern helped throughout the process, of course. Keeping an eye on what we were doing and even trying to pinch one of the legs and a screw driver. She is a very bossy bunny.

28 September 2007 by Lindsay

Fern may be a little bunny but she really is a handful.

I have no idea if it’s because she is a female bunny, as we’ve never had a girl bunny before, or whether she is just bonkers, but we don’t know what to do with our little rabbit. So far she has been jumping on our bed, trying to dig in the duvet, jumping on the furniture, digging in plant pots and eating the houseplants.

Her latest bit of naughtiness is in the evening. We always let her out at bedtime, while we lie in bed and read, but she has started jumping on the bed and tugging Derek’s magazine off him, demanding his attention. Not very relaxing, but it is cute :-).

Don’t get me wrong we love her to bits and think she’s great, but goodness me she’s still only a baby. I dread to think what she is going to get into next.

I have read that this is an adolescent phase that some bunnies go through, that should last about a year. If we survive it, Fern will end up this wonderful little bunny and it will have all been worth it. I am hoping this phase Fern is going through is like a test and the more we put up with from her, the more affectionate, sweeter and well behaved she will be by the end.

One thing is for sure, we haven’t even had Fern a month, and we don’t know how we are going to survive the next year, but we do love her.

Spot the bunny

04 November 2007 by Lindsay

Fern's new outdoor home

We had planned to let Fern out in the garden next summer, when the weather warmed up, but Fern had other ideas. Being a house bunny wasn’t exciting enough for her. It started off with her climbing on our bed, then progressed to climbing on the furniture in our bedroom where she discovered our house plants and started digging them up.

So we have given in and bought Fern an outdoor run. We had really wanted to build her something ourselves, but the weather was too cold and Fern obviously was not going to wait. Our chosen bunny run is actually a chicken coop, but it works just as well for a bunny home. It is not as big as we would have liked, but it does have an all important bunny door, so Fern can run free around our garden and hopefully burn off some of her energy.

Depending on the temperature Fern spends at least two hours a day in the garden. We always sit with her when she is out of her run, so she can charge around the garden safely and of course so she’s not lonely. Most of the plants are loosing their leaves, making the garden look very drab, not that Fern is bothered.

She learned really quickly to go back into her run when we clap to let her know it’s be put away and sometimes she even goes in and sits there looking at us, as if saying ‘come on shut the door.’ Looking at Fern outside having fun, it’s hard to believe we ever thought she could be a house rabbit.

24 November 2007 by Lindsay

Fern is obviously a bunny who can’t help sticking her nose where it doesn’t belong. A week ago she managed to pull a bit of fur out just above her nose. It was nothing serious and was only noticeable when we were close to her.

Fern is a very active little bunny and she does like to throughly explore the garden. While we weren’t worried about Fern’s injury, we were keeping an eye out for any places she could have hurt herself to stop her doing it again. Unfortunately Fern managed to hurt her nose again, before we found where she had done it. This time her injury is more serious. Not only has she managed to pull out more fur, but she’s lost some skin too and has a very nasty looking scab. We think she has hurt herself by going up the side of the house and sticking her nose under the gate. She cannot get out of the garden this way, but obviously being such an active and inquisitive bunny she is trying to get as good a look as she can at the world outside our garden.

We have blocked off the side of the house completely, so she can’t get down there at all. Lets hope Fern doesn’t find anywhere else to stick her nose.

19 December 2007 by Lindsay

The bunny run we bought Fern had a ramp up to the bed box. Fern has removed it. We went out to see her one afternoon and it was laying flat on the floor. Foolishly we thought it was an accident, so we stuck it back up. The ramp had been attached with screws and she had pulled it clean off, but we managed to reattach it.

Fern was obviously not impressed and pulled it down again. I guess we are a bit daft, because we kept putting it back up and were trying to think of away to secure it permanently. Then Fern pulled it down flipped it over and started chewing on it. We finally got the message, so Fern’s bunny run no longer has a ramp.

Fern is looking very pleased with herself and happily jumps up into the bed box without the annoyance of a ramp in the way.

13 March 2008 by Lindsay

Derek and Fern

I’m not sure if Fern actually realises she is a bunny. Climbing on the furniture in the house was odd, but she is obviously a bunny who likes adventure, which is why she lives in the garden where its more exciting. Now she has started jumping on us. It is not anything I remember the bunny books we read ever warning us about

When we let her out of her outdoor bunny run, we always like to stay out with her, even when its cold. Our main reason is to keep her safe, but we also just like being with her. Fern is a member of our family and it’s fun to spend as much time as we can with her. Plus as a lone bunny it is very important to make sure Fern isn’t lonely.

We have two folding garden chairs to sit on and we go out with her twice a day, come rain, snow or shine. Obviously our presence is appreciated by Fern as she jumps on our knees and sits there, like its the most natural thing in the world. We were really shocked the first time she jumped up and thought it was a one off, but no. If anything Fern is getting more confident sitting on our knees and climbing up us. Sometimes if she jumps up on Derek’s lap she’ll then hope over to me for a bit, before running of and kicking her legs.

Fern really is fantastic.

02 April 2008 by Lindsay

Fern in action

We have always known Fern is full of life, mischief and adventure, and we love her for it. She is great fun tearing around the garden getting into all sorts of trouble, climbing on everything she can find - including us. Now spring is here Fern has been gripped by a new bunny obsession - digging.

It started with the odd scrabble here and there, nothing serious. The ground was quite wet so digging wasn’t much fun, but now the weather has brightened she’s gone berserk!

We don’t mind her digging - she is a bunny after all, but we are worried that she may dig her way out of the garden, so we’ll have to come up with a way to stop her digging too near to the fence. Fortunately her favourite place to dig is along a brick wall where she has no chance of digging under, though I’m not sure how the plants that grow there are going to survive.

We fill her tunnels in every now and again, so she has to start again. Fern actually gets really excited when we start moving the soil around and plays with our feet and tries to stop us. She growls at us too, but it is all in fun. We know that if we ever made Fern mad she’d make sure we knew it. Fern is such a bossy bunny!

27 April 2008 by Lindsay

Fern's handiwork

About a week ago Fern had a little go at digging while she was tucked up in her run, it was nothing serious, but we thought we should make sure she didn’t do it again.

It was a nice sunny morning so we headed out to buy some wire to line the bottom of Fern’s run. When we got back we were already to late, Fern had dug a tunnel in her run!

To top if off It’s the biggest tunnel she has dug so far. If she had put her mind to it I don’t think it would have taken much effort for her to have got out of her run. Fortunately, when we got home she was sitting waiting for us, looking very proud of herself - if a little tired.

A bunny eye view of Fern's tunnel

It took me ages to put all the soil back down the hole and the lawn still doesn’t fell very stable to stand on. We are going to have to reseed the lawn where Fern completely destroyed it. Not that we mind, Fern’s safety is always going to be our priority.

While I was filling in Fern’s handiwork Derek secured the underside of Fern’s run with wire. We hate to stop her being able to dig, but we have to keep her safe while we’re not there to watch her and its made a bit of a mess of the lawn too.

The mess Fern made

03 August 2008 by Lindsay

Fern hard a work

Our full of life little bunny is digging one serious tunnel. She is not digging near the edge of the garden, or about to dig under any plants, so we can’t see any reason to stop her fun. Although we will probably have to stop her when we can no longer see, or reach, the end. We have already filled in the tunnel a couple of times, to slow her down, but it’s no effort for Fern to empty it all out again.

The weather is really hot at the moment so Fern has to keep stopping for a lie down in the shade and we can see her panting from the exertion of her work. After a quick rest she is straight back to work.

She really is amazing to watch. Nothing is going to stop her in her mission, not even rocks. Our garden has plenty of stones and rocks and Fern is coming across her fair share while tunneling, but they don’t hold her back. She will bite them and pull them out with her teeth. Fern just doesn’t seem to care, not even when her mouth is full of soil. If she comes and sits beside us we can often hear her crunching soil between her teeth. It is pretty disgusting.

04 August 2008 by Lindsay

Fern & Treacle

Terrorizing the cats.

We have two cats, Treacle & Custard, and when not digging in her tunnel, or taking a break in the shade, Fern is harassing our cats.

The poor things are ten now, which is fairly old for a cat and they just want to laze around in the sunshine and be left in peace. Fern is far too young and curious to respect this wish and so our poor cats have to put up with being harassed by an over friendly bunny.

Fern doesn’t seem to understand, or care, that the cats could really hurt her if they wanted to. She often runs up behind them and startles the poor old things, then when they run off she chases them like its a game.

Treacle & Custard are both used to rabbits and with their age I don’t think they can be bothered to hurt Fern, but I do wish she wouldn’t harass them quite so much

12 August 2008 by Lindsay

Look for Fern's mud prints

Fern’s busyness has been brought to an abrupt halt by the rain. It poured it down last night and has filled the tunnel Fern was digging with water. By the time she came out to play the water had drained away, but it was still pretty muddy down there. Fern took one look and was not impressed. I guess mud doesn’t make for good digging conditions.

Not to worry though, Fern went back to eating the plants and finding other troublesome things to do. I’m sure once things have dried out she will be back to work. I do hope she gets tired of digging soon, or we are going to have to find away to stop her. At the rate she’s going she’ll have dug such a long tunnel we won’t be able to see where it goes!

29 December 2008 by Lindsay

Fern the explorer

Our little bunny is obviously not going to stop amazing us or finding new ways to get into mischief. At the end of our garden we have a picnic table, which is meant to be a nice place for Derek and me to sit and enjoy our garden. Thanks to Fern it ended up being a place to put potted plants to keep them out of her way and stop her eating them. While Fern had climbed on the picnic table a couple of times when she was younger, she never looked very happy, and we had thought the plants were safe there.

Because its winter and the garden is looking quite damp and drab and not a very exciting place for an adventurous bunny. Fern has rekindled her interest in the picnic table. No longer is she afraid of being so high up and vulnerable, if anything she seems to love it and has even gone up on the table and chased our cat down. Of course she has also discovered the plants that we’d put up there and is able to chomp them at will. Who knows what she is going to do next.

02 May 2009 by Lindsay

Fern enjoying her new lawn

Ever since we moved into our house, about 4 years ago, the lawn has been in a sorry state.  We’ve tried a few things to make it healthier and greener, but the moss was winning.  Now Fern’s living on it and we walk on it everyday, it’s has been getting worse.

So, we decided to treat Fern and ourselves and get some nice new grass.  The lad we picked to do the work was very sweet.  In fact his girlfriend works as a veterinary nurse at our vets, so not only was he sympathetic to our concerns about how the work would affect Fern, he also knew about our other critters.  Some of the other people we had out for quotes weren’t very good with Fern and some actually lent on her run to make notes, which she was not happy about.

As Fern would never tolerate being kept in the house, not even for one day, we had to put her out in her run while the work was being carried out.  We moved her run to a patio down the bottom of the garden, as far away from the work as possible, but still giving her a good view of what was going on and I’m pleased to say she was fine.  Our garden is fairly small, so the work only took a day, which was really good as it meant Fern was hardly disrupted at all.

She was a little nervous of the new grass at first, she wasn’t even sure about stepping on it, but that didn’t last very long and then the fun started.  It didn’t take Fern long to realise we couldn’t walk on the new grass, but she could.  The little madam would sit out in the middle of the lawn when it was time to go back in her  run and stare at us like we were daft, then when she’d had enough of the game she would kick her bottom in the air and hop into her run.  She will be in for a shock in a few weeks when we can walk on the grass again.

Fern's old lawn on the left and her nice new healthy lawn on the right

26 December 2009 by Lindsay

The story ‘First Snow‘ was inspired by Fern and her first encounter with snow, although the snowfall Fern experienced at the time was only a very light dusting and nothing at all like the snowfall that Fifi encountered in the story.  All that changed this past week when Fern really did get to find out what snow is like.

The part of England we live in gets very little snow, usually only a light covering which may last a day and then quickly melts.  This year was very different and we got 8 inches of snow falling in one night and it lasted the whole week, although by Christmas Day the snow was more packed-down ice than snow.

Fern was not very impressed with the snow at first

Fern is usually a very brave bunny, getting into all kinds of bunny mischief and when we woke up to a wonderful white blanket of snow last Friday morning; we thought Fern would be very excited and ready for an adventure.  We were wrong!

As always, Fern spent the night in the house and Derek put her outside in her run she seemed happy enough, but when he opened the door to let her come out and play she was not impressed.  The snow had been slightly trampled down outside her bunny door, by the door opening and Derek standing on it, even so Fern was not convinced.  Derek was standing at the side of Fern’s run, sorting out a plant that had been damaged by the weight of the snow, but Fern would not even look out of her bunny door.  Instead she sat in a corner looking a little shocked at all the whiteness around her.

All that day Fern would not leave her run, even though we were sitting outside with her, as we always do come rain or shine.  I admit I was a bit worried by her reaction, as Fern can be a bit of a handful and I wasn’t sure how she’d cope with not running around every day.  I needn’t have worried.

The next morning Derek took Fern out again and opened her bunny door for her.  This time she hopped out of her run, looked at the snow and hopped straight back in!  Not a great reaction, but it was an improvement.  Luckily, later that morning when we went out to see her she was obviously feeling a little more adventurous and came hopping out of her run across the lawn, although she did stay in the tracks Derek had made getting to her run.

Fern eating one of the many berrys that had been knocked out of our tree by the snow

Fern’s confidence with the deep snow continued to grow, until she was bouncing around in the snow, doing bunny binkies and laps around the garden.  It was lovely to watch her, though we were a bit cold standing around in the back garden.

Unfortunately the down side to Fern’s new love of the snow was the plants in our garden suffered.  Fern didn’t seem to appreciate that the snow had raised the ground level and weighed the plants down, so they were in her way.  Our sweet little bunny Fern went on a chomping spree, lopping off whole branches of shrubs and then trampling them into the snow.  Even though she can be a very naughty bunny it is hard to be cross with her.