Charlie is fully grown now and has his first adult full coat.  He's a puffy fluff ball.

Genny continues to be an attention whore.

She looks speckled because her fur is growing out at different rates.  It's still short because I cut her down twice this summer because of the heat.  

Charlie's First Haircut

When Charlie came to us in May, his fur was fairly short so I didn't feel it was necessary to clip him for summer when I clipped Genny.  Considering the heat wave last week, though, I decided that an inch and a half of fur was probably at least an inch more than he needed in this weather.  So, out came the scissors.

At first, he took the rabbit attitude to anything new:  he froze and hoped it would go away.

As it became clear that he was not going to be flayed alive, however, he started looking around, scratching the tabletop and then relieved himself.

I put him down and he ran over to Genny's cage and wouldn't come back.  That pesky Y chromosome ....

When I finally got him back on the table, he was squirmy and excited and refused to hold still.  After multiple attempts to jump off the table, I decided that we both were out of patience with this endeavor.  I gave him a pineapple treat and put him back in his hutch with an apple branch to chew.

This is a far as we got ....  Looks like he's wearing a skirt!

I got a good bit of silky angora wool, but it's pretty short.  I doubt if I can spin it -- but it may be good for felting.  I'll have to look into that.

  

Rabbit Poo

What's so great about rabbit poo?!  I know it makes a great fertilizer, but that doesn't explain why every animal in my house is wild for it.  Sam the dog is practically frantic to get to it and seems to prefer it to his dog kibble.  The bunnies' preferred occupations seem to be sitting on the manure pile under each other's cages to see what develops. 

I've tried to fence them all out with wire fencing but Sam pulls it down and the rabbits just find some way to wigggle over or under so they can reach that golden spot right under the cages. 

A few days ago, somebody peed right on top of Charlie's head!  Nobody has confessed, but I suspect Genny.  She goes nuts when Charlie gets under her cage. 

Someday we may discover that it holds the cure for cancer, but until then I'm going to Lowes for more wire.

 

Genny's New Look

 Here's Genny after her haircut.  She's feeling a lot more frisky with all that hot angora fur gone.

I can't figure out what she thinks of Charlie, the new rabbit.  When he was in the exercise pen and went over to investigate her, she tried to get at him through the bars of her hutch.  This morning while she was in the exercise pen, she went over to investigate his hutch in return and smacked him hard on the nose, making him squeal.  Still, she wants to sit under his hutch with her tail raised as if she's "in the mood."  I hope they work it out.   They're always separated by their cages, but they still have to live together. 

Meet the Bunnies

This is Genevieve.  She's a four-year-old black satin angora doe from Joan Hasting's stock.  It's up in the 90s today and she's going to get her summer haircut.


At first, she wasn't thrilled about the idea but, as the hair began to come off, I think she got the idea and began to enjoy the cool breeze. 



This is my beloved Andy.  He's  a nine-year-old lilac french angora buck. 
He's elderly and not in the best health, but he's my love. 



This is the new kid on the block, Charlie.
 His official name is Cookies & Cream and he comes from
Fiber Crazy Rabbitry in West Virginia. 
His mother is from Lisa at Somerhill and his father's line comes from Joan Hastings.
He's a four-month-old broken black satin buck.   



This is Sam, my shadow.  He's a rescued Springer Spaniel mix and he's hot today!

 


Charlie peeks out.  Such a cutie!