hello*)!!!!!!!!! Howdy folks*)!*)! I am from Santa CRuz, California, or actually from Aptos, right outside it. I have 14 chickens (Midnight, Pie, Eagle, Alice, Victoria, Cleopatra (who is disabled), Ginger, MaryAnn, Frannie, Morgaine, Lark, Sparrow, Strawberry and Spaghettios) and 6 ducks (Esmeralda, Maria, Nemo, Quincy, Leo & June), 2 Sebastopol geese (Goliath & Gilda), 1 hermaphroditic Nigerian dwarf goat named Annie, 1 bunny -Cocoa!- who is the bane of my existence, too many cats, 2 daughters aged 3 & 11, and 18 years without drinking or drugs. I also am a rabid Lyme disease activist, this is me here: Nice to find this forum*)!!!!!!!!!!! Sincerely, Sarah

i think my brain just exploded.

I'll take that as a compliment*)! (eom*)

Hey, welcome. I have chickens too. You may not want to put quite so much info about yourself out there on the web, but for what it's worth my hens are named Ngosi, Azul, Sove and Kira.

Do you keep bees, too, by chance? My friend K. is, well, bee-curious.

No, sorry. We're hen-rocentric.

no, but I left out- the parrots, cockatiels, parakeets and lovebirds*)! No bees, but there is a good apiary nearby we get our honey from- Pacific Crest Apiaries, they have a website. Thank you for the welcome- Sincerely, S.

a hermaphroditic goat? Nice. Welcome to

I guess that would be a manny goat

*groaning*

thank you- yup, on her/his collar it says, "Annie Our Tranny"*)!!

What's up with the bunny? Why is he the bane of your existence?

Cocoa the Bunny was described by the people who gifted him to us as tame and cuddly but he is a fierce semi-feral beastie who is a free-range rabbit that my x year old loves and won't let me get rid of. He chews the doorways, the carpets, books, videos, pillows, the couch. He also will touch noses with you and jump on your lap and act lovey once in a while, just enough so you would feel eternally damned if you got rid of him and he got made into Julia recipes. He is a torment. At night he thumps THUMP THUMP THUMP, only at around x:x am when the house is otherwise entirely still. During the day he is winsome and friendly, unless you try to pick him up in which case he'll bite you (and draws BLOOD!). He loves to play roughhouse with the orange kitten Oscar, they tumble and jump over each other sweetly and sometimes curl up in a heap together, looking adorable. And his litterbox stinks, stinks like BUNNY crap and BUNNY piss. He is the pet I wouldn't mind if he had a short happy life. I love Cocoa, but he's awful and unfortunately, untouchable. I tried to give him away once and my daughters were SO miserable. I am never ever ever ever EVER getting another bunny. Ever. Sincerely, S.

Is he neutered? Have you bunny proofed the house so he won't be able to chew on things he shouldn't? I have neutered, house trained wonderful bunnies and will probably have bunnies until I can't care for them anymore. Being a bunny owner takes a certain commitment though, and they are truly not for every

does that mr? he is a solo bunny!! Would neutering HELP? I asked the prior owners and they said neutering wouldn't change anything, but they were dishonest about a lot of things!!! I *do* love Cocoa, but he is just SO much MESS. I have a house that is always comfortably disheveled, but he makes it downright messy sometimes (otherwise known as on a regular basis). I buy him those little wooden blocks that taste like carrots and corn, and give him melon and millet and treats, but he STILL chews holes in the carpet and couch and doorways! Would neutering him really change him??????????????? Feeling HOPE, Sarah

The people who had him were flat out wrong. Neutering is the best thing you can do to modify behavior, especially in males! He's horny!! Rabbits were made to reproduce. Its what they do best, ya know?? But if you take away the sex drive, you take away that desire. It actually has little to do with whether or not he could getanother bunny pregnant. (As an aside, in female bunnies, you also eliminate the risk of reproductive cancers, which in rabbits is about x - x%.) It also would allow you to get him a companion. Rabbits are highly social creatures and love to have a mate or two. Check out the House Rabbit Society website: for a vet that can do the surgery. DO NOT take him to just any ol' vet - you MUST find an experienced bunny vet to do this. Also, around if the price seems high. In Los Angeles, the costs ranged from around $x up to around $x for a bunny neuter. But seriously, its the best thing you can do for your bunny - and for your piece of mind! You'll also find all sorts of good information on diet, toys, interaction, care, etc. (I don't think millet is good for bunnies, for example, but I could be wrong.) Grass hay, like oat or timothy, good quality pellets and fresh greens with the occasional treat and he'll be right as rain.

I recently read that a pregnant bunny can re-absorb her fetuses (feti?) into her body if there aren't enough resources around to sustain them all. Do you know if this is true? I know nothing of bunny anatomy. Did I read they have more thanuterus? Maybe that was cows stomach chambers...

The bunny is probably built like a cat two combination fallopian/uterine tubes. Even humans can reabsorb a pregnancy.

Really???? I had NO IDEA.

Bless you for doing the right thing for him! Seriously, you just made my night. You have no idea : ))