Reading Diary B: Brer Rabbit

The second half of this unit was a bit more fun because it showcased a few instances where Brer Rabbit isn’t always at the top of his game.  In the story “Old Mr.Rabbit, He’s a Good Fisherman,” when he gets stuck in the well, is pretty funny.  It reminds me of the time that Ty got stuck in the clothes hamper.

Ty-ty got stuck. [personal photo]

“A Story about the Little Rabbits” reminds me about the general chaos that usually surrounds young bunnies.  In the story, the young rabbits are scooped up by Mr. Fox who makes them perform various impossible tasks so that if they fail, he has an excuse to eat them (a previous story had shown Brer Rabbit killing and essentially torturing Mr. Wolf for trying to eat Brer Rabbit’s children).  Real life young rabbits, though, will get into this kind of trouble and the kind of tasks Mr. Fox has them preform aren’t that much different than the ones they do all on their own.

They’re constantly getting out of their play pens to chew on everything (breaking the stick up for Mr. Fox in the story), purposefully tipping over water and food bowls (collecting water for Mr. Fox), and if something is in their way they move it or tear it up (moving the wood for Mr. Fox).

Ty-ty attempting to decimate the cork population. The lesson: no matter how big the rabbit, if they want to get at something - they WILL.

Many savvy rabbit people will find these antics annoyingly endearing.  However, many people do not and young rabbits are quickly gotten rid of by their new owners – who may have purchased them on a whim or for their child for Easter. 

Khan and Sid were both approximately 4-5 months old when they were abandoned.  Ty-ty was only a little older - probably around 6 months old. Young buns can be separated from their mothers at 8 weeks and those bound for the pet trade are usually shipped off at this point.  So, between the ages of 8 weeks to 4/5/6 months, Khan, Sid, and Ty had gone through significant upheaval in their lives.

Sidney, the day we brought him home.  A friend had called us and said she spotted him by the railroad tracks - he was nothing but fluff, dirt, and bones.

Sidney, a month later, now clean and at a good weight.

Usually, and this is from my own observation with the rabbits I take in and the rabbits surrendered to Heartland, it seems like it only takes two or three months for owners to grow tired of a young rabbit's destructive behavior, the constant monitoring they require, and cleaning out a cage.  Rabbits also start entering sexual maturity around four months old, and males can get very aggressive and will even spray urine to mark their territory.  Females entering maturity can become very territorial and will guard their area aggressively.

This is why neutering and spaying rabbits is so important.  Once the surgery is over, it takes around 40 days for hormones to level out.  As a result of the surgery, rabbits will live much longer and happier lives.

This has been a PSA.