Flutffle? Fluffle? What in the world is a Fluffle? Well, I'm glad you asked. A fluffle is a group of bunnies! And our bunnies make a very fluffy Fluffle!
We raise American Chinchilla Rabbits, a breed of rabbits listed on the national conservation list for protection. This breed of rabbits is most commonly raised for meat and hide production. These rabbits have a super soft coat. You can hold one and pet it for a good long time. That soft coat is so easy to enjoy, and the bunny loves the attention too. It seems the more a bunny is petted, the softer it's fur gets, which seems to make us want to pet them even more. This is like one of those endless loops in a computer program, going around and around and around - pet and the fur gets softer, we want to pet more so we do pet and the fur gets softer, we want to pet more so we do... you see, I even fell into the trap!
Such soft fur and such wonderful feelings from petting have helped many people. We love watching people pet our bunnies and see the smiles on their faces as their worries melt away, as their stresses float off, growing more distant with each stroke.
We went to a local "Service Providers' event" to explore ways we could better serve our veterans and provide more opportunities. We took 7 bunnies with us. We'd hardly finished bringing the bunnies in and placing their cages on the table before visitors began arriving. This was even before the Presentation of the Colors ceremony. These visitors looked at the bunnies, as adults do a new human baby, so sweet and tender, but fun. I found myself standing next to each visitor and verbalizing my thoughts of appreciation for the bunnies. Each visitor told their own reason for the pleasure. At some point during the conversation, I asked if the visitor would like to hold a bunny. The answer was always affirmative, though sometimes shyly.
Well I can tell you that emotions are released and soothed during a bunny holding session. I've seen people cry, laugh, and contemplate. We strive to encourage acceptance of such strong reactions-as a counselor I have heard of says, crying is like an emotional shower--and we all need to take showers quite regularly. We simply recognize the release of stress and feel blessed to know the bunnies enable it.
Then there are the tough men, the ones we picture as semi-truck drivers, or leading a group of motorcycles, the bikers. They're tough looking men, our vets, our heroes. There were a few such men at the event Saturday. Well, they came over too--and not because their wives dragged them (though if you need to use this excuse, I hear ya brother *knuckles). But in reality, you know, it's okay to come on over because... well, they're bunnies, man, and they're cute, and it's okay for a bunny to be cute.
Most of these tough men stood and made cute--I mean strong, loving--I mean admiring, eyes at the bunnies. As I approached each one with the idea he might hold a bunny, a soft denial was quickly replaced by a shy yet grateful confirmation he would enjoy it. Well pretty quickly the tough man would be baby talking to the bunny, making smoochie sounds and cooing. These men are such softies! And really, the bunnies are amazing.
Each visitor on Saturday spent joy filled moments with the bunnies. We had a bench behind our table and people sat for the time they needed. We had workers from local Alzheimer's support groups, and health insurance providers holding bunnies and we watched the stress dissipate from their faces and be replaced by calm.
Well we had another experience just the other day when we took the bunnies to an adult day care. They were all seated in a circle and excited to see what we had brought. We took a towel to each person and then a bunny, though we could have brought more bunnies but they seemed happy to share. Well we put a bunny in each lap and the tension eased from the room. There were extra coos and tender murmurings as the staff watched expressions on faces they know so well. The energy of the room seemed to hum with the sense that this is good. The staff took pictures of each person with a bunny, to share forward to family. We were approached by some of the seniors as they expressed appreciation and approval of our bunnies.
We're looking to take the bunnies to more senior and assisted living facilities. I want this to be a beneficial effort and help to support the farm as we grow because it's a service needed by our elderly in senior living homes. What's even more amazing to me, and a blessing is their desire to pay for our service. I'm working on expanding my non-profit status to include these visits, but for the time, the paperwork only covers horseback programs for our special needs neighbors. Until then, I hope you feel as I do, that these services, this time with the bunnies is as beneficial as it appears to be. I'd say it's worth it, would you?
Back on the farm...
You know you can't take a bunny for a walk. You have to take it for a hop. It's fun to take the bunnies hopping. We love to encourage ranch participants to try it. We put a harness on the chosen bunny and a leash and then the hopping begins. Bunnies can go fast, and they twist themselves with joy, similar to a leprechaun clicking his heels. Bunnies like medium grass, the stuff we need to mow. This grass is where the bunnies like to huddle down and act like they are hiding. And they eat the grass.
If we know we have young children coming for a visit, we'll build a small corral, a fenced in area where the bunnies can hop around without leash and harness. When the kids arrive, they can walk right on in, sit down and start holding and petting the bunnies. We invite older folks, such as veterans from the local veterans assisted living community, to come by and sit in the shade, holding bunnies, too. The peace and quiet on the farm with a bunny in your lap is such a sweet experience, we really want more people to enjoy this.
Oh! Feed, we have been asked what do we feed our fluffle. Well we know the bunnies are healthiest on the most natural diet. We feed our bunnies some composite grain sold specifically as "rabbit" feed. We also supply a good quantity of grass hay to the rabbits. They are like the horses and goats and decorate with it, Ha, they actually do more than decorate with it. They build with it. They'll build their dens inside the hutches with it! We actually want them to build dens because they only do that when they are actively breeding, and birthing wonderful, precious new baby bunnies!
Baby bunnies are called kits, and we love our bunny kits! They are beyond adorable. If we want more, then it becomes really important for us to make sure we give them extra hay every couple weeks, This allows them to replenish the hay dens, which means more babies being born, which in the end gives us good opportunity to let our participants experience more bunny love.
Imagine, the special needs enjoying bunny love! And imagine disabled people enjoying bunny love! Imagine veterans enjoying bunny love! Now recognize each of those individuals has their family surrounding them, and when they visit BirdHaven Ranch, they get to enjoy bunny love themselves. Their children and grandchildren get to as well. Man, how great is it for everyone to be able to enjoy our bunnies! Wouldn't it be great to watch a bunny love on your child? And the sweet loved feeling they exude. Heck, don't you want to give a bunny a lap and give it a pet? Come on, it's more than worth it, I promise!
We want to expand our fluffle and explore other opportunities for them. We are told everyday about the wild rabbits people see in their yards, or those who get into their veggie gardens. Well, rabbits can eat a good amount, especially if they're focused, and restricted in spatial access. Hey, remember Peter the Rabbit. Well, let's just say he wasn't too much of a figment of an imagination. His talking? Yeah, that was a figment of someone's imagination. But his eating? Nope. That was real.
Now, imagine 5 to 10 bunnies in a "cage" or tractor getting moved around your yard. It'd probably need to be moved about once a day, maybe more often if you have more rabbits. There's some experimentation to be done, but with the concerns about individual carbon footprints, perhaps this could be a viable idea--and they're a lot quieter than a lawn mower, too. Each rabbit tractor would need to be large enough to support the rabbits having a good quantity of feed each day. We'd also need to build a denning area for them to have and feel safe in, as well as being able to stay out of the weather.
You see, rabbits don't like to be drenched or submerged in water, it lowers their core temperature and they can't regulate until they are dry again. Like us, this frightens them, but unlike us, this fear can lead to a heart attack for them (well, maybe not so much not like us, ehh?). Since we want to prevent as many little coronary events for our rabbits as possible, we need to be able to have a place where they can avoid the rain. Heck, they don't even like running through the rain during a rain storm.
Now, if we were in New Mexico, where I grew up, this wouldn't be much of a problem. We do get rain there. Occasionally. But, unfortunately, Rabbits don't like to be warm. Well, darn it, I guess there goes this idea!
Rabbits actually like cold temperatures. This relates back to their core temperature: because they're pretty small, their bodies run a little on the warm side. Their radiator system isn't what ours is, you might say.
Depending on who you ask, different experts recognize rabbit body temperature ranges from 100.5 to 104 F. (I'm not sure why there's an inconsistency, maybe it's more dependant upon which thermometer you're using?? Or.. maybe the vet needs a new pair of glasses?? Anyhoo..) The lower temp, the 100.5 one, that's about the same average body temperature as a cow! But there's a huge difference in size, and if a rabbit's core temperature is much different, they struggle to regulate.
So we strive to keep a rabbit's living situation cooler, so they don't overheat. They like the cold because they just eat more if they are cold, and keeping those digestive juices flowing and the blood supplying the gut helps keep the entire body warm. Well, if a rabbit house is shaded from the hot sun and also has the benefit of good air flow, it will stay tolerable. Maybe we could even look at a fan run by solar power to generate increased air flow. Heck, if my brother got his hands on a story about the rabbits in his sci-fi stories, we might come up with a solar-powered refrigeration system to keep the rabbits at a cool 45 degrees or so. They'd be shivering as they're eating, but boy would they be happy! Anyway, I digress... but it will be something to explore in the coming years.
This again can be an area where we can help to support the nonprofit opportunity of farm animals for veterans, special needs and disabled people. Not only do they get a cheap, noiseless lawn-mower, but they get to pet their lawn mowers too (hmm, I think I'll need to work on a slogan, 'Pet your Lawn Mower' doesn't quite have the right feel to it I'm thinking...anyway, something for the to-do list). 'Sides, it'll go hand-in-hand (or should I say paw-in-hoof??) with our Goat mowing services!
I can't think of a much better reason to increase the size of our fluffle, can you?
There are other benefits we derive from rabbits, but I think I'll add these to a different post. Our rabbits are as important to us and our farm, BirdHaven Ranch, as are our horses, our goats and all the other critters we have.
As with our other postings and musing, thank you for taking the time to read and hear us. We love our animals, and I have many dreams to make them more accessable not only for some, but to all our neighbors of every walk of life, from the veteran down the street who needs his lawn mowed, to the elderly person who doesn't have a person left in thier world, to the speical needs and speically gifted young soul who can be filled with so much peace and joy from such a simple experience! Thank you, and thank you again for all your generous and amazing support for BirdHaven Ranch.
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