Volume 3, Issue 4 - November 2003

News from the Sanctuaries

Report from Dave and Lynn
Summer has come and gone and we are now busily preparing for the onset of another winter. The bunns have been industriously digging tunnels throughout their house and the group dynamics continue to evolve as they open new accesses throughout their shelter and to the outside pens. They are very happy to once again roam between the inside and outside areas.

Sadly, the last two of our original family of eight bunnies passed away in the past couple of months. First Benji died, followed about three weeks later by her brother Bielzibunny. They introduced us to life with rabbits and we will miss them dearly.

By the time this goes to print, our new hay building should be complete and well on it's way to being filled with hay to get everyone through the winter. Along with stocking up on hay and straw, other chores will be done over the next month to ensure that all are prepared for winter. Pretty soon we'll be seeing bunny tracks in the snow.

Report from Leslie and Stuart
We are always glad to see the hot summer wind down. Even though this summer was not as hot as the previous couple, there were many days in the 90’s and some that surpassed 100 degrees. Fortunately, this year we didn't experience any problems with the bunnies that seemed to be caused by the heat. Now we are preparing for colder weather. We are setting out the heated water bowls and preparing areas in the barns for the bunnies to be sheltered during the usual winter cold snaps.

Mosquitoes have always been a problem in the sanctuary. They tend to go after the rabbits quite a bit, usually biting them on the nose and ears. This year because of the prevalence of West Nile Virus, we were even more concerned. In early August, we purchased the product "Mosquito Magnet" which attracts mosquitoes with a combination of heat, carbon dioxide and a chemical attractant. It then sucks them into a net bag where they are trapped, then dehydrate and die. It seemed to be very effective. Within a week, we noticed fewer mosquitoes hanging around the ears and noses of the bunnies. As time went on, the mosquito population appeared to decline substantially in the area of the sanctuary.

We lost two of the original Sanctuary rabbits this summer. Jonah died of complications from cancer. Boots died on July 4, shortly after we celebrated his 10th birthday. We miss them both, and are thankful for the many years of joy and love we had with them.

Kathleen Wilkins continues to come on a regular basis. One Sunday in August, Dr. Julie Smith (Dr. Aunt Julie) joined us. All the rabbits received a quick professional look and some health issues were addressed.

We want to thank Christine Haas, Don and Natalie Stroh, Debby Schmidt and Dr. Julie Smith for their work and expertise at a very productive work day on October 12th All the rabbits received tune-ups, and we got end-of-summer maintenance done.