Bunny business

Lots have been going on with the bunnies lately, it seems like everyday, I have one more thing to say about what's going on with them. Bonding is going really, really well. We haven't had anything close to a fight in about 5 days, and there has been lots of grooming and cuddling, as you can see by the following pictures. They have graduated from the small pen enclosure to the half-room enclosure with no problems. In fact, Saturday night, Bennett figured out how to pop the gate up out of the latch that it's in and was able to spend a whole night alone with Ella and the whole room. Neither of them got hurt because of it, but I'm still not convinced (even though he obviously believes that they are ready to be together forever) that keeping them together overnight on purpose is a good idea. Let's give it at least another week.

On Sunday, we put up the permanent puppy fencing that our good friends Paul and Debbie were getting rid of. It's just barely too short for the room, so we will be needing to get another panel of fence for it to go across the whole room, and after we let the bunnies into it, we discovered that Ella can slip between the bars in the gate and escape into the part of the room that isn't bunny proofed. So, needless to say, our gate arrangement has left something to be desired... I think the plan is going to be that in a few weekends, when Laurie gets the time, we'll cover the fencing with pretty fabric that will keep bunnies on one side and cords and couch and cedar chest on the other.

While Laurie was putting up the new fencing in the bunny room, I was in the corner of the room, trying to keep the bunnies out of the way and me out of the way. Bennett stayed in his carrier for a little bit while he was noshing on some pellets for breakfast and Ella and I got to have some playtime in a very small, enclosed space. She had to hop up on my lap to get across the enclosure we made with the xpen and since we were in such tight quarters, she really opened up in affection towards me. That day, she let me pet her for long periods of time when Bennett was off doing what Bennett does best (getting into trouble) and since that period of enclosure with her, she'll hop up onto my lap now, asking for pets and she is really coming out of her shell. She's initiating contact and cuddling with Bennett, now, which is great! She's really come a long way in three weeks! She makes the cutest noises when she's in bunny bliss, because of her sinus condition and I've been really excited to be around her lately, she and Bennett have stolen my heart :).

Unfortunately, we think that Bennett might have fur mites. He's had a little bit of dandruff for awhile, which Laurie's noticed, but I didn't. We found two spots on him that kind of look like flakey scabs, they are really little but need to be looked at by our vet. My sister, Andie, is going to drive me to the vet office on Friday for an appointment. We're just bringing Bennett, but it's likely that Ella will need to be treated for it, too, since they spend so much time together. It's possible that he's had them all along, Laurie's said that she has seen them (the flakes) for all the time that we've had him, so we'll see what goes on with the vet on Friday.

Ok - the pictures:

Bennett and Ella snuggling on Sunday.

On a date, sharing their litter box. Oh how romantic!

These next few were taken with my cell phone, so they're not the best quality...

Snuggling some more!

Cuddlebuddies.

This is when Ella decided she was done with us taking pictures of them being cute, trying to hop away to decide if she wanted to mount him and Bennett looking lost and forlorn at her departure. (Still a cute picture though!)