So Simple a Two-Year-Old Could Do It.....(or, *#%$! Rabbit!)

Our newest family member, Guy, was in need of a home. Errr....in need of a house......um....what's that thing called? Bunny barn? Rabbit ranch? I think it's called a hutch. So, Guy was in need of a hutch. The cardboard box worked fine for the three days he was in it, but wasn't so easy to keep clean - and he started to hop right out of it today.

NorthernDaddy thought that he would be nice to NorthernMommy and take NorthernToddler with him to purchase a new 'hutch' for Guy - leaving NorthernMommy home by herself to enjoy some non-toddler solitude. We got loaded into the NorthernToddlerAdventureVehicle ™ and headed towards the nearest Tractor Supply store. Normally, I would rant against the giant, nation-wide corporation and make an argument for the local, family-owned ag store, but our budget called for the largest bunny cage available at the absolute rock-bottom price possible, and Tractor Supply fit the bill. Only problem was that the nearest TSC is in Montpelier - forty miles away. Oh well; NorthernMommy will get plenty of alone time. Except that Googlemaps lied, and NorthernDaddy had to call home for directional clarification. (Which turned out to be wrong anyway - the TSC in Montpelier is not where google says it is - we stumbled upon the store by pure chance right as we were going to admit defeat.)

We picked out our budget-deluxe rabbit cage and got it home. Pull everything out of the box, and it looks fairly simple to assemble - hey, they didn't include instructions, so it must be simple, right?! It's gotta be so simple that NorthernToddler could put it together!

I'd like to interrupt this post to share an odd development with you....This is a lamb that NorthernMommy just created and handed to me. Apparently, this week is "L" week at our house: NorthernToddler is learning how to draw the letter 'L' and all about different things that start with the letter 'L'. Why we didn't start with 'A', I don't know, but it's all about the 'L' at our house: linguine for dinner, lemonade to drink, light switches, and now....lambs. (Can a person get cabin fever in the middle of summer?!)(Regardless of NorthernMommy's sudden and uncharacteristic arts-and-crafts kick, it's a kind of cool lamb. She just told me that she got the idea from Inadvertent Farmer's blog -http://sweetgrace.typepad.com/the_inadvertent_farmer/ - so, if you think it's a neat idea, go surf her blog.) (You should go surf her blog anyway - it's quickly becoming our favorite blog to read.)

Okay, back to the bunny prison....it looked easy, but took two intelligent adults and one "helpful" toddler almost an hour to assemble. As NorthernDaddy was putting pieces together, NorthernMommy was trying to keep an inquisitive rabbit out of the guest room, and NorthernToddler was trying to help by offering his assembly advice to Daddy and then rushing off to chase the rabbit around the house. After much chaos, there stands in our mudroom a shiny new bunny hutch with a happy bunny inside.

NorthernMommy posted on her blog about Guy the Bunny having a little bit of gastro-intestinal distress. Yesterday he did have some problems, and after reading several web sites, it looked like it could be very grim for Guy. After today, when Guy looked much better and hopped around alertly, it looks better for him. Instead of the bad bunny problems we thought he might have, it seems that his diet might have been a bit off. We've been giving him lettuce, strawberries, and other 'good' veggies and fruits. We've found out over the last day that too much of that stuff can be bad for young rabbits. He's on a diet of high-grade pellets and top-shelf hay for now, and we'll see if things improve.