Our family is growing...by TWO!!!

Michael has his last week of preschool this week. He has grown up SO much and transitioned from big toddler to little boy over this last year. One of my favorite things about Michael is that he will say probably every other day, "Hey Mom?" and I'll say "What?" and he says "Just that, I love you."

And...We are excited to announce two little brothers joining the family! Let me back up a bit. We had a fun day yesterday at the Got To Be NC Festival, the kids picking 3 rides and having so much fun! Nicole and Jim went on the Ferris wheel and it went quickly for a ferris wheel and I thought she'd be terrified but Jim said she was so brave! There were lots of animals to look at and pet, we got to watch chicks hatching right in front of us and could pet rabbits. When we got home, I discovered online that there is a rabbitry, Martha's Rabbitry, less than 10 minutes from our house.

 

I had the kids watch probably an hour of youtube videos on taking care of rabbits and all about their personalities. I read this pet care contract to the kids and had them sign when I was sure they got what I was talking about. I wanted to be sure they knew this was serious business along with the fun. Nicole got it, Mike mostly got it, and Jake...well, he was clueless.

So later that day we packed in the van (while driving there Josh called, and when I said we were going to look at rabbits he asked "How many does it take to feed your family?" I thought Dad would have said the same thing!) and picked out two rabbits. The rabbitry had a ton of large cages raised to eye level with wooden legs (all outdoors under a shelter) with aisles in between the cages. The owners brother was just finishing up scooping all of the rabbit poo into a big wheelbarrow (the way the cages are designed the rabbits just "go" and it falls under the cage where they can scoop it away. Michael, however, did not get this concept of what occurs under the cage and to get to one side more quickly he just ducked under the cages and went to the other aisle. The owner's brother, who is Hispanic, said a flurry of Spanish warning him to walk in the aisle, kind of in disbelief that Mike would do that. Once we explained it to Mike, he started looking all over his body, and was just sure he'd been pooped on! Not a few minutes later Mike went over to a huge wheelbarrow, loaded to the very top with freshly scooped rabbit doo, and was ready to help and move the wheelbarrow. My only warning was the quick Spanish again and Jim was thankfully able to stop Mike (who had no problem once we explained what all those little black pellets were). I felt really badly since we were just trying to listen to the owner and make a good decision and although Nicole was completely listening and Jim and I were holding the youngest two, Mike was beyond excited about all of the animals before him! He then came up to me and said "Mom how do you open the cages?" Yep, I'm sure we were a rabbitry's worst nightmare. The rabbitry guys were really nice and the brother even let Mike hold a new little bunny. However, it didn't take long for us to put all the kids except Nicole in the car (since we parked right next to it) and finished picking our rabbits.

 

Once we picked the breed we wanted- American Rex- for their temperment and size, Nicole fell in love with this little guy. She named him Chocolate Chip, Chip for short. He was cautiously friendly right from the start and is the bigger and more dominant male. It did take Nicole a little of adjustment to be okay with the fact that he is not a she.

 

And then we chose this guy for Mike since it was the only black bunny in the litter. We've named him Blackie (or Black-ity) and he was very shy but has quickly opened up just as much as his brother. We were lucky to get two brothers that are already bonded and groom each other.

 

One of the best lessons has been patience. We've taught the kids about how rabbits have a prey mindset and don't like to be held since they feel like a falcon picked them up and will eat them. I said maybe someday when they learn to trust us, but it has been great for them to learn to make slow motions, be gentle and wait patiently for the rabbits to come to them. It was especially frustrating for Mike at first, but he has learned so much already. If the rabbit hops by and he doesn't get to pet it, he says, "oh well."

Diana is fascinated by the rabbits and loves watching the action. We have to build the hutch (these will be completely outdoor rabbits) so the rabbits are temporarily in a kennel at night (where they use the restroom), and roam the porch (we enclosed it with gates and pegboard) during the day.

 Rabbits are clean animals, licking themselves clean several times a day. They are active in the morning and early evening, perfect for school kids. They poop a lot for such little guys, but can be litter trained (they're already doing great at that which is a relief!) They do fine in cold and warm weather, we only have to watch out for temps around 90+ to bring them in or turn a fan on. Jim and I spend time each night playing with the bunnies and we have so much fun. I think we got the rabbits for ourselves as much as the kids, but we make sure to have the kids do the chores so they feel the responsibility of ownership. I know the novelty will fade, but we have really enjoyed these little guys so far and they make a great addition to our family.