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Bunnies are smart.
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Mar. 5th, 2008 @ 10:46 pm
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I've had a bunny for a little over a month now. He's been a great little friend but has a terrible habit of getting onto the bed and peeing on it.
Not good for the sheets, the mattress, or my sleep schedule.
Thankfully, I was able to borrow a baby fence from my folks to act as a barrier.
Not so great news, my little bunny pal is smart. Or at least inventive.
He found the place where the fence touches the wall and shoved and nudged it with his little nose until he was able to wriggle through onto the bed.
Good news, it made a lot of noise so I could grab him before he made a mess.
Then I tried to rectify the situation by reconfiguring the fence. A difficult task at best but I also had a curious rabbit under foot, between my knees, and all over the fence.
Managed to complete the task. I just hope he doesn't find some other way of getting on the bed. He likes to stand on his hind legs and sniff around the fence a lot.
Is this normal for rabbits or did I happen to get a particularly smart one? Might be the wild rabbit genes. I don't think he's 100% domestic.
 Current Mood:  tired Current Music: none |
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A tiny life gone forever.
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Sep. 9th, 2005 @ 09:40 am
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I barely had her two days (in fact, as I write this, it's been almost exactly 48 hours). She was eating. She was drinking. She had grit to swallow to aid in digestion. I even had a larger escape-proof cage for her. She was hopping around, fluttering, everying a bird would do. Except sing.
Maybe I should've taken Fern to a vet right away, but everyone said she was probably just exhasted and needed food and rest.
I did everything I could, and this morning I found her dead.
I checked on her last night before going to sleep, and she was curled up in a cute ball of green fluff asleep. I could tell she was breathing.
So I only hope she died painlessly in her sleep. My one comfort is that she did not die of starvation.
But what did she die of!? Why did she die? Was there something else I could've done?
She did so much for me while she was here. She was a joy to watch and to hold.
And now, now I wish to return the favor somehow. I want to help another tiny avian life.
Besides. I still have a full jar of canary seed, grit, and an empty cage. The canary seed alone was nearly $5.
*shake*
Sorry, my Scots heritage has this funny way of popping up at the most inoportune times. I guess it's something of a self defence reflex.
I've searched the net and couldn't find any canaries that look anything like Fern. I'm starting to wonder if that's really what she was. But what else could she have been? She was the right size, shape, and she certainly wasn't the right color for a sparrow.
I guess I'll never know. When Grandpa comes down on Monday I'll give him the body to bury out on the farm. Until then I have a body in the freezer. (I don't think I'm going to be eating any frozen foods for a few days.)Current Mood:  sad Current Music: (there's a dirg in my head) |
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Brigid is a mother hen... literally
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Sep. 7th, 2005 @ 07:09 pm
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You will not believe what happened today. I went out to clean an apartment (again >< ) when I saw what I thought was a dead bird on the side walk. As I got closer I noticed that it was sitting.
A live bird, and I was so close to it. I wondered if it was okay so I took a soft stick and stroked its back. No reaction. I reach out a finger and stroke it gently. It hops and flutters, but doesn't fly.
Now I'm worried. A bird that can't fly will get killed by a car or eaten by a cat. So a pick it up and take it inside to my apartment.
It's such a cute little bird, kind of a greenish canarie. I first had it in an empty flower pot, but it didn't like that so I cleaned out a plastic wash tub and but a wire letter basket over it. I lined the tub with a towel and put sunflower seeds inside. Then I put the little bird in and covered the makeshift cage with a cloth to keep it calm.
That's when I called the Humane Society.
"Hello, FM Humane Society, how may I help you?"
"Hi. Do you know anything about birds?"
I know, it sounds daft, but when I volunteered there all I saw were cats and dogs. So I though I better ask.
I was given the number of someone who works with the Humane Society and specializes in exotic birds. (I would hardly consider a canarie exotic, but oh well.) No answer. Answering machine.
AAAAAAAAA!!!
So I ended up running all over campus asking anyone and everyone if they know anything about birds. I ended up at the local grocery store and bought canarie seed and grit (for digestion, since birds don't have teeth).
Currently, the little bird (now named Fern, per Nightengale's suggestion) is flying, but tires easily. I finally got in touch with the bird lady and she suggested that Fern might be malnurished and exhausted. She also said she'd be bringing over a cage tomorrow so I have something a little more secure to put her in. (Nightengale suggested Fern is probably a girl.)
Fern consistently escapes her makeshift cage and flies around, usually settling by the living room or kitchen window. She particularly likes the asparigus fern I have by the latter and sits in the pot with it. That's where the name came from, by the way.
I have her seeds, along with some chopped corn, carrot, and banana as recommended by the bird lady, on the kitchen window sill now. And she's eating! I'm so glad. I don't know if she'd drinking yet, I haven't seen her do so, but I have water out for her in case she's thirsty.
I hope I'm able to keep Fern. She's a sweet little bird. ^_^Current Mood:  <--isn't this smily ironic? Current Music: tiny sounds of Fern moving in kitchen |
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