Bye Bye Twitch

Just a quick sad note that Twitch was put to sleep March 10th as he had a huge abscess in his cheek and the necessary surgery would have just been far too much for him. At least he gave me comfort for the 6 days after Mum passed and I like to think that they're together right now.

I'm starting to feel a little more normal today. I took 2 neighbours to the library and found a beautiful  pattern for another little jumper for Baby Charlie who is due in May. Have also finished a wool blanket for him but I need to block that before I show you it.

Just being at home is a great comfort to me now, the new bread-maker is working beautifully as is the new fridge. The house is cleaner than it has been for ages and the garden is doing well despite the very high temps. I've made a huge pot of Savoury Mince(Ground meat) with vegies and beans as I know Dad enjoys it very much and it freezes well. Dad lost half a pork pie on Sunday~~~we suspect he ate it without really noticing as we cannot find it any-where :)

In about three weeks my brother and I will gather our whole families together at Dad's home for a much over-due pizza and sandwich 'do' as we say in Lancashire. We'll have a beer and a glass of wine and remember our beloved Mam. Her ashes will be available next week but Dad is still deciding what to do with them...she wanted to be scattered on the golf course in front of their home where they spent many happy hours playing golf with so many lovely people. The Golf ladies plan to plant a native tree nearby to remember Mam.

I'll leave you with this photo of my Grandad Gardner in the mid fifties. Her Majesty appears to be looking directly at his MBE that she had given to him in 1952 in honour of his service at Dunkirk during WW2, I think my Dad should also have been on parade but had to work that day...these were the Territorial Army of part-time soldiers

Hope all is well at your place
Love from Sue
xx

When Life Gets In The Way.....

...despite my best intentions to get back into writing this blog last week we have instead been caring for a very poorly bunny. It started last Tuesday(8 days) with him losing control of his hind legs, off to the local vet who treated him for GI again.
 He was worse the next day and losing now control of his front legs so back we went but this vet suggested firmly that we take him up to Murdoch Unusual Pet Vet as it was a job for specialists. Fortunately we still had Ma and Pa's air-conditioned car as it was quite warm so off we went(70kms round trip) Came home with $375 lighter but with meds for E. cuniculi  and GI .
 Twitch did not have one of the main symptoms of head tilt but he is responding slowly. He also had meds to help his blocked gut and some special feed called Critical Care to feed by syringe. Back again the next day as he seemed worse but Dr Nic was pleased with his overall condition but gave him a shave around his bottom and some fluids by injection.

After 5 days he was eating sufficient greens and pellets for us to stop the syringe feeding but he is still having lots of boiled water via a 2ml syringe. Rabbits have a special digestive system that requires them to eat a soft poop (cecal) which has good bacteria in it to aid digestion...Twitch cannot do this at the moment so I have given him 1.5 mls of plain yoghurt for the past 3 days....I am really in the dark about this but have to try it.  He can now move himself around a bit but not really stand up or walk, it is more a flipping around almost like a seal, poor lad! His front legs are splayed out to the side as you can see here...

We've had great support from other bunny friends at the Australian Rabbit Network on Facebook and this could go on for as long as 3 weeks so please keep our baby close to your heart...he's never been one for cuddles but now he loves it and I can support him well enough for him to groom his front paws and face etc He grooms me back by vigorously licking/nibbling my hands. Joe works the late shift so Twitch is getting lots attention...

I will get those cruise pics up soon!

Mostly Twitch

Twitch is indeed a huge part of our family and much loved but did you know that the people of Queensland are prohibited from keeping rabbits as pets? If you are a magician however you may keep two! It wasn't until 1985 that the Western Australian govt passed a bill permitting people here to keep a pet rabbit or two when they finally realised that domesticated rabbits have very little chance of survival if they get loose.

There are many rabbit fanciers throughout the world, some people show their rabbits, others keep pets in their gardens and a few have house rabbits like us. The angora types have long beautiful hair that can be spun and used for knitting garments. There are Rabbit Rescue groups all over Australia who will sterilize the rabbits that come into their care, vaccinate them against calcivirus and find good homes for them. A well cared for rabbit can live for as long as 12 years and Twitch is already two years of age! Myxomatosis is a problem for rabbits kept outdoors, spread by mosquitoes it is usually fatal and the vaccine is not available in Australia because it's one way that the Govt controls the numbers of wild rabbits. If you get your rabbit to the vet at the first signs of illness it has quite a good chance of survival. Cover outdoor hutches with fly-wire to keep the mosquitoes at bay.

Many rabbits live companionably with other family pets such as gentle dogs and cats as well as guinea pigs. They must be sterilized to become house trained and while a few of them enjoy being picked up most don't so if you get down to their level they love to be groomed and stroked. I walked into the lounge room last week to find Twitch on the back of the settee gazing down the street!

Here are some links to rabbit keepers and their organizations  

Western Australian Rabbit Council
House Rabbit Society of Australia
Rabbit Rescue WA 
S.A.F.E.
RSPCA for what to feed your rabbit

And on with the Twitch Show especially for Juds...the garden is very dry as our bore is being replaced tomorrow...it looks awful!

hallo

it's a bit windy, Mum

it's really ruffling my feathers

shall we go back inside?

I hope this has answered a few of your questions, Chel's especially.

Just for fun there are groups who get together for Rabbit Hopping displays...I could watch the following You Tube all day!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69Q-32BflF4#t=28

Have a triffic Thursday
xxxx