Week 7: Famous Last Words

So, Jacky, my English Lop, has been underweight since we rescued him a year ago.  It seemed like no matter how much we fed him, he never put on weight.  In the morning, each of the rabbits get bananas, one cup of pellets with a scoop of dry oatmeal; in the evening they get greens - cilantro, parsley, red-headed lettuce, green lettuce, and strawberry tops (if they're in season); and all day they have unlimited access to timothy hay; they also get raw pumpkin seeds once a week.

So all of this, and Jacky's never put on weight.  We thought it was just because he was an older rabbit (we have no idea how old he is since he was found wandering a neighborhood) since his head is so big and blocky - which is typical of mature and older male rabbits, but a rabbit-savvy friend of ours said it was possible he wouldn't put on weight until he was neutered.

The only reason we weren't able to get Jacky neutered sooner was because we had another rabbit, Sammy, who was older, come down with cancer.  He made it through the surgery to remove the cancer, but the vet said that if she missed even a little bit of it - it would come back.  Unfortunately, the cancer did come back and he passed away.  We believe he was around 9 (Sammy was also a rescue and we weren't sure how old he was when we got him) and he had been with me for 8 years.

So we were finally able to set up an appointment for his surgery this past August.  And now, two months later, Jack has finally started to put more weight on.  Going into surgery, Jack weighed 10.2 pounds, and he's now at 11.6.  That pound may not seem like a lot, but it is on a rabbit!

Jack Bunny, personal photo

But Jack isn't the only one reaching important milestones.  Khan and Sid both had their first ventures on a harness.  Khan was only a little wary of the traffic (I live on a busy corner), but he wasn't bothered much.  Sidney, who was found by the railroad tracks, didn't even blink at the three motorcycles that went by.  They were both just happy to be allowed to dig wherever they wanted and for the time to stretch their legs.

Khan Noonien Singh, personal photo 

Sidney Crosbun, personal photo

Because they are both still so young (Sid's probably about 7 months, and Khan is about 6 months), they have a lot of energy.  Once the weather cools down (and stays cooled down), they'll be getting outside just about every day.  I can't wait to see how they deal with snow!