Friday, July 19, 2013

The morning feet-greeting ritual

Like most rabbits, Flicka is primarily focused on food and specifically just how much she can wheedle out of us daily.  But to write off all rabbit behaviour as food orientated is a mistake and can lead to missing out on some important communication.  For example...

Every morning Flicka is either waiting on the hallway rug or racing to meet me as I open the bedroom door.  We meet on the rug and she immediately starts 'snouting' my feet i.e. nudging, running her nose over them and up my leg... it is quite forceful and, in fear of a nip and assuming she is asking me to feed her, I've always continued on my way down the hallway with her following.

The 'snout'
This morning I paused and looked back - she was still waiting on the rug.  I thought to myself 'what are you doing?  You know she's not a biter'.  So I went back, resubmitted my feet and got thoroughly snouted - very enjoyable it was too, albeit a tad ticklish.  Then I gave her a little ear scratch and she happily binkied off down the hallway with me in pursuit (was tempted to binky myself, I admit).

I now realise this is her way of saying 'good morning, did you sleep well, any bad dreams? etc, etc and that it was really quite rude of me to not respond to this.  So from now on I shall be minding my manners and enjoying the morning feet-greeting ritual in all its snouty glory.  Of course, she still wants food after - but then what self-respecting rabbit would turn down the chance of free grub?

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Thursday, July 4, 2013

A Monster delivery

Bailey and Flicka received a big surprise in the post the other day, a package from the nice folks at Monster Pet Supplies.  After demanding that it be opened now, now, now, immediately... we read the letter (addressed to them, of course!) and set out the goodies for inspection.

First up, a Burgess Excel food bowl which Flicka declared to be "well posh".  I agree - very posh indeed.

Shouldn't this bowl have something in it??

Then, a bag of Country Value Fruity Nuggets and a quick scan of the ingredients to ensure there was nothing harmful (although to be honest, no dry rabbit food can be said to be 'good' for rabbits).  I gave them a few nuggets to try which were wolfed down with appreciative grunts from Flicka.  The rabbits only get an eggcup of nuggets each per day (Burgess Excel) and the Country Value is also made by Burgess.  The pack has good information on it (feed alongside hay, fresh water etc) and most importantly is a nugget, not muesli, so prevents selective feeding.  All in all, I would say this is a good, cheaper alternative to Burgess Excel but, like all dry rabbit food, should only be fed in small quantities.

Flicka inspects...

Finally, a bag of Smartbedz bedding.  I have been wanting to try this for ages!  Even the sample pack (1kg) contained enough to cover the bottom of a largish litter tray.  Typically, Flicka tried to eat it but no worries - it's made from 100% natural straw so no nasties there.  It smells nice and is the most absorbent litter we've ever used.  Shame we don't currently have a garden as I bet this would compost really well.


Monster Pet Supplies have a great range of rabbit products, including hay, herbs, toys and treats and with free delivery on orders over £59 would be a great online store to buy in bulk from.  We give it the 'paws up'!