Oh, bollocks.

Aww, nuts.

Two of them.

A pair.

Two weeks ago Augustus went to the vet for his first checkup. All is well with him.

This afternoon we took Snowdon for hers. All is well with her as well. Or...almost.

She's not a she. She's a he.

Bollocks.

Looks like the fellows we got our rabbits from have a little bit to learn in the science of sexing.

This perhaps explains the fighting two weeks ago - they were sorting out dominance, rather than it being unwanted lurve-thoughts on Augustus's part.

Good news: we don't have to keep them separated for months til they get fixed. Bad news: I'm just praying they get this dominance thing sorted out under strict supervision with minimal scrapping and then get over it.

I thought I might need to change Snowdon's name; after all, she (..he. Sorry) was named after my great-grandmother. However, the most famous Snowdon of all is Lord Snowdon who is very definitely a He. So now our little girl is a little boy. Lord Lambchop Snowdon.

No reason. Just because.

Flock

We bought an old chair at a market in Brighton a number of years ago - a comfy stuffed flock-pattern armchair. This morning Augustus learned to jump up and survey his kingdom.

Took him to the vet the day before yesterday for his first checkup. All looks good. And he's definitely a boy.

Johnny B. Goode, Augustus B. Bad

Oh, what a delight it is to have binky bunnies. Bunnies that three days ago learned to jump up onto the sofa. Bunnies that follow each other around, play together, snuggle up together, and as of yesterday morning also rip into each other with fur-tuft-ripping ferocity and blind viciousness.

Oops.

Seems to me that Augustus at the ripe old age of ten and a half weeks has started experiencing an interest in Snowdon that goes beyond the bounds of platonic friendship and into the realm of hey baby chicka-chicka boom boom. And Snowdon isn't having any of it...yet.

We've had to separate them. Half our living room is now taken up with a pair of dog pens with extra layers of chicken-wire to keep the two apart. They miss each other and it's heartbreaking to see them trying to nuzzle through the jail bars but rather that than have them draw blood (or, in another two months, suddenly decide to throw caution to the wind and end up with a handful of babies).

Went to the vet today. Although it's possible to spay and neuter at 4 months (and indeed most people do), these days there is evidence that having rabbits fixed at that age leads to bone and joint problems down the road as the body was denied certain developmental hormones. So... the vet wants to see the bunnies when they're 8 months old.


This means another five months of keeping the creatures close enough to maintain the bond but far enough apart that we can avoid the pitter patter of tiny, tiny paws around the house.