Bear becomes a Monk and more Bunny Antics at the farm

Fifi all ears

Bear, as all of you who are reading the blog know, is quite a character, hence his name: after Bear Grylls.

He is an adventurer extraordinaire and not only that, but also as nimble as a cat and not afraid to tackle climbing straight up the fence hopping over and …I would not have believed if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes- jumping straight back into the cage, after dabbling in the box of fresh hay outside of the run.
Now this whole SAS adventure type thing he is into, had a dramatic effect on his look just at Halloween (as if he did it on purpose, the sweetheart).

Very early in the morning I heard some rumbling and thumping in the studio, I leapt out of bed (well tried to) , ran into the studio and found Bear in the corner near Jazz’s bed on a pillow in the shape of a heart covered ( and I mean covered totally!) in hay, straw, food and what's more important , my recently finished handspun baby camel bunny yarn….the yarn did not survive….and neither did the hair on Bears back, which got caught in yarn on the run when Bear tried to jump back. When I came into the studio Jazz was just there it seems trying to get Bear back into the enclosure by licking his back to get the yarn and hay climps out of the way. In the process ofcourse making the bare spot on Bears back look like a little bald spot: from Bear Grylls to Bear Monk……

So, it took an hour to clean Bear up, while he was sitting on my lap , looking here there and everywhere and trying to get into some other naughtyness. I put some aloe vera on his little bald spot to settle things down , since he managed to rip out whole clumps of hair …. I definitely think Bear likes the commando look, but he will just have to wait for his first haircut….lol

I now have put a “ceiling”on the run in the studio so when I am not here so he cannot get into trouble. (one can only dream....) During the day when I am in the studio working, I leave part of the ceiling open and every now and again, I can hear a tiny noise and yep, there he is, climbing the wall in stealthmode and then as soon as his paws hit the ground, doing a high binkie. Little Monk Bear…

Monk Bear after SAS training

Another bit of big news is that Fifi, apart from calming down a lot! And really settling in well, is that she has indicated she was looking for a nice spot to build a nest. I put a nestbox in her run, lots of hay and some of the hair I cut off her the other day when I groomed and gave her a clip. And with a vengenance she started to organise and make it happen. The action stopped now and the nest does not look ready for action yet, but it sure is the earliest nest building I have ever seen. Normally to be mums only start a day or two before they give birth. Fifi is normally due around the 13th or 14th this month. (so all of you planning on coming to the bunny spin in that weekend will really see something special).

Fifi also “said”she wasn;t happy with the amount of light in her condo, so I draped some “curtains”over the nestbox part so it is now a cozy safe place…she is content..at least that’s what I think , because she hasn’t put any more requests in. Now it’s a waiting game.

I give her lots of greens and grains, and have cut down on her lucerne pellets . Lucerne and clover have an effect on the growth of female foetuses especially in the latter part of the pregnancy. It appears that lucerne and clover leach iodine from the foetuses. Female foetuses need lots more iodine to develop than male foetuses, so in the last two weeks of the pregnancy it may help the females along if you cut out the lucerne and clover part in the pregnant does' diet. This is not only the fact in rabbits by the way, it also happens in cattle.
One year a farmer changed his pasture to clover and lucerne and he did not get any females at all come birthing time. Changing the diet definitely has an impact on foetus development. The commercial feeds for rabbits though is about 80% lucerne…so hand mixing and growing organic veggies is clearly necessary.

Fifis nest condo

By the way, Boy Blue, the other rescued bunny and Fifis dad, who was residing next to her in the studio so I could keep an eye on him, has now moved to the Bunny Bunker with all our other fluffy ones and is feeling very happy. I don’t know whether it is because he is living next to Millie and he has an eye on her…lol Here He is looking gorgeous on the grooming table. He is such a cute boy with gorgeous eyes and the most amazing blue grey hair.

This week I have very special hand dyed tops for sale that will make your mouth water. Get it while you can ! This is the last batch of Twinkle Bunny Tops for a looooong while : go get ‘em !


the IxCHeL Bunny Foster Sponsoring Programme or BunFoSP for short , is still open and there are still bunnies waiting for a wonderful foster parent. For more information on the foster program please visit my blog of 2 weeks ago or email me for information! There are still bunnies waiting for a foster mum or dad.

For photos of all our bunnies and our little fibre farm please visit my flickr photostream: www.flickr.com/photos/ixchelbunny and go to the set Ixchel farm or angora bunnies.

How To Order:
You can email me on ixchel at rabbit dot com dot au or message me on facebook or ravelry where I am Ixchelbunny. I will email you right back with all your order details and payment methods. Any questions? Please don’t hesitate to ask! Always happy to enable.

Thank you so much for your help and support !
(((HUGS)))
Charly


Twinkle bunny Tops

18micron organic merino 70%, angora bunny 10% and 20% tencel

100 grams AU$24

Teddy Bear Picnic

Mystery

Honey Bunny

Cadbury -sold-

Jungle Drums

Spring Time Smile

Rose tinted glasses -1left-

Snakes and Ladders

Heather Mist

Sunny Day

Rainbow Warrior

Sea Foam -sold-

Sunspots

Bush Essence -sold-

Golf Bunny on the Green

Dates to Remember:
Bunny Spin in at the Ixchel Fibre Farm (11am-5pm)

There will be BUNNY SPIN INS again in November !! Yeah!

Saturday November 19th, 11am-5pm
Thursday November 24th, 11 am – 4pm
Bring a plate to share your wheel or spindle, knitting or crochet, yourself and a smile and have a fun day out amongst bunnies and friends ! Please contact me to secure a spot ! Bunny food like cabbage, bok choi or broccoli is always welcome: the bunnies will cuddle you more for it ;D

Saturday December 3rd, 10am-3pm
Victorian Feltmakers Guild
Corner of Highfield Rd and Milverton street-off Toorak Rd, Camberwell/Hartwell in the Hartwell Church Hall
Bunny Talk and Bunny Feting and IxCHeL products for sale ! Exclusive new product not to be missed : feel it to believe it

Contact me on Ravelry where I am Ixchelbunny, message me on facebook there or email me on Ixchelbunny@yahoo.com.au

RABBIT ON !
((hugs))
Charly