Hoppy Holidays from your favorite blogging bunnies!

A big huge "Hoppy Holidays!" to our blog-reading buddies, and here's hoping you get lots of carrots from Santa! 

We are hanging out at our very awesome bunnysitter's house, with her bunnies and her foster buns, too!  We're excited for the human to come back, because we know she'll be bringing us some awesome presents :)

And in case you forgot, I'm still in a photo contest: http://ilovemyhouserabbit.com/christmas-bunny-rabbit-picture-contest-2011/#comment-231.  If I win, I'll donate my toys to the House Rabbit Network!  Help me make sure the foster bunnies have a hoppy holiday by voting for me, #2!  The winner of the contest gets $50 to spend on bunny toys, and I can't wait to pick out some awesome toys for my foster friends :)

I'm in a Christmas bunny photo contest!!

Wheeeeee, I'm a finalist in a bunny photo contest: http://ilovemyhouserabbit.com/christmas-bunny-rabbit-picture-contest-2011/

Here's my picture, but you'll have to hop on over to the contest and vote for me to see my silly caption!  I have also promised to use any money I win in this contest to buy toys for the foster bunnies at the House Rabbit Network, where my best friend Logan came from :)

Mommmm, there's something under the bed!

"Eeeeek!  There is something hiding in our house!  It has furry feets..."

"... and it has looooong whiskers!  Quick, tell the human to come save us!"

The human made us a BUNgalow!

And your human can, too!  Here's what you need: 1 big box, another box of the exact same size OR a big flat piece of cardboard, scissors and/or a knife (yup, be careful with these!), and a marker.  Oh, and some bunnies, of course.

Step 1: Find a box.  Our human uses the boxes our hay comes in.  The BUNgalow is easiest to make if you have two boxes of exactly the same size.

Step 2: Cut a piece of cardboard that is exactly the same length and width as your big box- this will be the second level!  Don't forget to add "tabs"- these tabs will go through the big box and hold up the second floor. 

Step 3: Make sure your rabbit approves of your engineering.

Step 4: Put the second level in, and using a marker, note where the tabs hit the sides of the big box.  You'll need to cut slits for the tabs to go through.  Remove the 2nd level, carefully cut in a straight line where the tabs are, then carefully put the 2nd level back in and push the tabs through the slits.  You may want to bend the tabs over and tape them if you're using less-than-super-thick cardboard (we don't want any BUNgalows collapsing under the next big bunquake!)

Step 5: Add some doors, windows, more doors, and more windows, and then add some decoration with non-toxic markers (Don't worry, we'll take care of the interior decorating!).  We recommend having at least 2 doors on each level.  Our human also put a skylight in the ceiling for us to hop out of the BUNgalow and onto our roofdeck :)

Typical us!  I think this is great fun, but Logan refuses to go in until I've thoroughly tested everything to make sure it's safe and that there are no bunny-eating monsters inside... which, of course, there are not.  Silly Logan.

We're BACK!

Phew, it's been awhile!  Don't worry, we're still alive and hoppin' (well, one of us is hopping more than the other, as usual).  We moved into a lovely apartment with plenty of rooms to explore, and best of all, we have our very own room!  Too bad the human STILL hasn't learned how to knock before she comes in. 

Here's a pic of our new digs.  The human just HAD to surround our room with wire grids and our exercise pen- she says it's so we can't destroy any more walls (in my defense, I've only destroyed one wall, and that was totally an accident!).  We love the brown shelf on the right.  The bottom is a cozy hiding and napping spot, especially when we drag our towels inside to lay on.  The human stores our toys on the top shelf so she can easily switch out our toys when we get bored.  We don't chew on the shelf, so the human says that it can stay permanently in our room.  The table on the left is for all of our supplies, like the air filter and our pellets, and the human's lint rollers (our silly human doesn't like being covered in our hair, but we thought rabbit fur was fashionable).  When the human is home, she leaves the door open, and we can run around her whole apartment- but she says it's only because she covered up my very favorite place, the TV cord jungle.  I looooooveeeee chewing on TV cords, but the human says I could be toast if I keep up that habit.  I'm not sure what toast is, but I think I prefer being a rabbit to being toast. 

Check out the TV cage- I think it's there so the TV can't escape and attack us.

Hoppy father's day!

Speaking of fathers...
We thought it would be cool to see what our babies would look like...
Babies with one fuzzy side, and one black and white side!

(er, if we capable of having babies, that is.. yup, we're fixed, no babies here!)

We hope everybun is having a very hoppy bunday and a hoppy father's day, too!

A yummy, sustainable project: an apartment garden!

To make up for leaving us behind while she went on vacation, the human planted us a garden!  We live in an upstairs apartment, but we have a lovely porch with lots of space for an apartment-sized garden.

To make your very own apartment garden, here's what you'll need:
-A big planter (we recommend the long trough-like ones)
-Lots of soil
-Plants and seeds of bunny-safe herbs and veggies

First comes the hard part: deciding what to put in your apartment garden!  My favorite veggie is romaine lettuce, so the human bought some lettuce seeds.  Logan loves cilantro and parsley, so the human bought baby herb plants to put in our garden.

Next, it's time to fill up the planter!  The human puts rocks at the bottom of the planter for drainage, but some planters have a built-in drainage system.  The human filled our planter halfway up with dirt.

Now the fun part: planting!  The human first dug little holes for the herb plants, carefully placed the plants in the holes, and filled the space between them with soil.  After putting the plants in, the planter should be almost filled to the top with dirt.  The human sprinkled the lettuce seeds on top and covered them with a handful of dirt.

See?  Instant apartment garden!  Don't forget to water your garden when needed- and we know you won't forget to share the bounty with your bunnies!

The human is back!

"I cannot believe you went on vacation and left me here in my grass hut to pretend I'm on a tropical island!"

The human insisted that Wisconsin is not really a vacation destination, but we certainly don't believe her.

Hoppy Sunday-bunday :)

It's Bailey here, reminding you to take extra special care of yourself this Sunday-bunday :)

Hoppy Rabbit Awareness Week!

Logan and I would like to wish everybun a very hoppy Rabbit Awareness Week!

The human wants everyone to be aware of how expensive we are...

The human says "Look at all this STUFF!"

...and how destructive we can be!

What's that look on your face, human?  I was just helping you decorate!

But we think that everyone needs to be aware of how cute we are! 

We all agree that everyone needs to be aware that rabbits can make excellent pets, but we require extra special care to be happy and healthy.  We would also like to bring awareness to the unfortunate fact that rabbits are the third most frequently dumped animal in shelters.  We hope that you'll consider adopting if you want to bring a rabbit into your family!

Question for the Bunny Blogger

Here's a question from Beth B:

Hello Bunny Blogger! I have a question for you. How do you groom a rabbit?
-Beth


Great question, Beth!  Every day, our human brushes us.  I'm a shorthair bunny, so she often brushes me with a bristle brush.  Logan's long hair is better suited to a slicker brush or a comb.  

We like the HairBuster from BinkyBunny.  

When we're shedding, she's extra careful to brush all of our loose fur away so we don't ingest it.  Brushing can be a wonderful bonding opportunity. We like being brushed because we get extra treats :)  Our human says grooming is also a good opportunity to check us over for lumps and bumps and ouchies.  We also need our nails trimmed, but only once per month.  Our human recommends taking your bunnies to the vet for a nail trim if you're unsure of how to do it yourself.


For more information on grooming, our human likes to consult the House Rabbit Society.  

Our cousins

We love spring because our relatives are always stopping by to say hello!

My new hangout

Now that the human is away for the next week and a half, we've been forced to find our own fun (not that our substitute human isn't fun, but he's always going to this place called "work," and that sure doesn't seem fun at all!).  We've also been forced to go exploring the substitute human's apartment for a computer so we can update our blog, since our human took hers with.  Silly human, doesn't she know that bunnies need computers, too?!  Anyway, here's what I've been up to.

Oh, hello there!  Don't mind me, just trying to get closer to my food :)

We're on the move!

I've been MIA, and I know it.  Blame the human!  First she had this thing called "finals" and wouldn't let me onto the computer to update The Rabbit Review.  Now, she's tearing our place apart and putting everything- except us!- into big boxes.  She even packed the camera, so no pictures for this post :( We hope  the human packs up a little faster so we can get to our summer home.  It's no fun dodging boxes when you're trying to binky!

What are your plans for Sunday-Bunday?

We're having a lazy Sunday-Bunday :)

Hoppy mother's day to the human!

Our human likes to call herself a "Bunny Mom," so we figured that we should wish her a very hoppy mother's day.  We decided to start the celebration early, by waking her up as soon as the sun came up.  She didn't wake up when we bounced around our pen, so we decided to start tossing our toys against the bars of our pen.  That worked well!  When the human finally got out of bed, we were ready and waiting at the door to wish her hoppy mother's day.  And guess what?!  She gave US a mother's day present: treats!  What a great bunny mommy we have :)

Hoppy birthday to the human

It was the human's birthday yesterday, and all she got me was this silly hat!

A yummy review!

Edible presents are the best kind of gifts for a bunny.  The human bought us an edible chew toy, and we love it!  It's a cute little barbell with a big piece of dried apple in the middle.  Once we ate the apple piece, we had a cool wooden toy to play with.  My one complaint is that the apple piece isn't nearly big enough for my hearty appetite, but the human says it's just the right size for me.  I recommend this for bunny birthdays, bunny unbirthdays, and every day, because I just love this toy!

It's Sunday-Bunday :)

(We disapprove of waking up early on Sunday-Bunday)

We're here to remind you to sleep in on Sunday-Bunday :)

The great bunny search

Any Easter eggs hiding behind here?

Hmm, where to begin the search...

Is there an Easter egg up there?

Ooh, is that an egg I see?!

Nope, no egg.  Just something shiny, and the human with that annoying camera.

This would be a good place to hide an egg... now to figure out how to jump up here!

Ooooh!  Something shiny!

Egg?!  Oh darn, that's just a leaf.

What's in here?!

It's Logan!  This is what I was looking for- much better than an Easter egg!

It's an extra-eggciting Sunday-Bunday :)

Moving faster than speed of light- camera can't capture me!

Hoppy Easter!  Bailey reminds you to kick up your heels and enjoy Sunday-Bunday :)

Easter baskets for Easter bunnies

Everybunny knows that Easter is all about the bunnies!  Our human is very eggcited to make Easter baskets for us.  Baskets for bunnies can't include chocolate and candy, of course, but our human has thought of lots of yummy and fun alternatives!

First, our human bought willow baskets.  They don't contain paint or other chemicals, so they're safe for us to chew on and play with.  We recommend the baskets at the Binky Bunny store.  

Inside the basket, our human put down a layer of "Easter grass"- hay!  We love our organic timothy, but we also recommend using some delicious hay topper at the bottom of the basket.  

Next comes a fun sisal chew and toss toy.  These are easy to make (all you need is bunny-safe wood and sisal rope!) and inexpensive to buy (Pet Rabbit Toys has a good selection of toys and pieces for making your very own rabbit toys).

We love willow toys, so a willow ball is a must for our baskets!

Don't forget to add some apple sticks- our favorite!- for us to chew on.

We can't wait for the human to hide our Easter baskets so we can search for them!  Luckily for us, our noses will be sure to point us in the right direction.  Hoppy Easter!

What's inside your Easter basket?  We love yummy hay and fun toys!

Bunny origami

Yep- you guessed it!  Now that the human has started making bunny crafts for springtime, she just can't stop!  This morning she made a puffy origami bunny, using these instructions.  It took her about five minutes to complete, and she said the instructions were simple.  We think they look silly, but cute!  

Boo-boo bunny

Sometimes, our human is so silly that we can't help but share her crazy antics with you.  Today, we bring you her latest creation, straight out of her childhood: the boo boo bunny.  This clever little craft can hold an ice cube for little ones' (and big ones'!) boo-boos.  And what better to make you feel better than an adorable bunny?!

Here are her easy instructions for making your very own boo boo bunny.  All you need is a washcloth and a rubber band or ribbon!

1. Starting with one corner, tightly roll the washcloth diagonally, as pictured above.

2. Fold the rolled washcloth in half.

3. Fold the washcloth in half again... 

... so that it looks like this.  Can you see the rabbit shape?

4. Secure the bunny's "head" with a rubber band or ribbon, so that it stays folded.  You're all done! 

We think the boo boo bunny is adorable- but not quite as adorable as we are, of course.  

Do-it-yourself bunny item of the week!

Our human is the best!  Check out what she made for us!  Here are her instructions for making a mini bunny playground :)

Materials:
-Two cardboard boxes (ours are both 24"x18"x18")
-One cardboard cement form tube (ours is 8" diameter, purchased from Home Depot)
-Pencil/pen
-Piece of scrap paper/newspaper
-Sharp utility knife
-Scissors

Instructions
1. Put the scrap paper or newspaper on the ground, and stand the cardboard tube up, with the circular opening on the ground, on top of the scrap paper.
2. Using your pen/pencil, trace around the tube so that you make a circle the same size as the cardboard tube on the scrap paper.
3. Using your scissors, cut out the circle from the scrap paper.  This will be your template for cutting a tube-sized hole in your cardboard boxes.
4. Place the scrap paper template of the circle on the side of a box.  Trace around the template so that you have a circle drawn on the box, then use your utility knife to cut out the circle (make sure bunnies and kids aren't near your work area- knives are dangerous for critters and kids!).  You should now have a hole in the box the exact same size as the cardboard tube.
5. Do the same thing on the second box.  You should now have two boxes with two identical circles cut out.
6. Decide where your bunny will enter and exit the boxes.  Bailey and Logan like to have two "doors" in each box.  The doors can be any shape you'd like- circles, arches, squares- just make sure they're big enough for your bunny to fit through!
7. Here's the fun part: Take the big cardboard tube, and stick one end through one of the circular holes in one of the boxes.  Then take your second box, and stick the other end of the tube through the circular hole.  Your two boxes should now be attached by the cardboard tube!
8. It's playtime!  Bailey and Logan wanted to check out their playground immediately.  You can also decorate your playground by adding windows to the boxes, or you can put blankets or pet beds into the boxes to make soft, comfy places for your bunny to lounge in- the possibilities are endless!
*Quick tip: if the cardboard tube is too long, you can cut it with a saw or a utility knife.  But be careful!  It's best to have one person hold the tube while the other cuts it.

Check out my playground!  Logan's bed is in the box on the left.  The box on the right has two arch-shaped doors- one on the left, and another on the right.  Our human left the tops of the boxes open so that we can't climb on the boxes and hop out of our pen.  Silly human, doesn't she know that pens are for jumping over?!

Keep checking our blog for more do-it-yourself bunny items!

What to do with all that hair?!

We're in the middle of shedding season, and the human spends a lot of time brushing us.  Our silly human hates to waste things- she even saves the hair that she brushes from us!  My hair is short and silky, and the human puts it outside for the birds to put in their nests.  Logan's hair is long and fuzzy, just like wool, and the human saves it for wool felting (the human still hasn't actually felted Logan's hair yet, but we'll be sure to post pics of her crazy creations when she's feeling crafty).

Here's our list of uses for bunny hair from shedding season:
1. Give the hair to the birds!  Many birds use hair in their nests.
2. Make yarn! (this one is for the long-haired bunnies, like angoras)
3. Try wool needle felting!  (the human says she's going to do this with our fur to make a picture of us.  we think that's kind of weird, but she thinks it's going to be a really cute memento!)

Anyone have other ways to put shedding season to good use?

We love hay!

What to do with all this hay?!  I know, accessorize!
Hay hats will soon become the latest fashion :)

Logan and I eat a lottttt of food.  Hey, we're active little bunnies who love to hop and binky and dig furiously (the human is never thrilled about this, especially when we start digging at 5 am), so we need a lot of good, healthy food.  The human used to bring home small bags full of hay, but she said that was too expensive, plus she wouldn't let us "waste" hay by using it in our litterbox (silly human, hay is for eating AND pooing on!).  The other day, the human went to a farm and bought an entire bale of their bunny hay- 2nd cut organic timothy, fresh and green and delicious!  Yes, that's right- we have about 50 pounds of hay!  The human won't let us have it all at once, because she says it would be too messy and give her really bad allergies, but every day, she gives us enough to eat and fill our litterbox!  We approve of having lots of hay.