Nova's Page

About Nova....

Date of Birth: February 28, 2024

Parents: Rosie and Sweet Tea

Color: Solid opal

Gender: female (doe)

Status: Available to clients with approved New Bunny Questionnaire status

Availability date: Any time

Placement Fee: $275

Through no fault of her own, Nova has become the underdog at HCB. At birth, she was considerably smaller than her sister Esther, and had to fight twice as hard to get enough milk from mama Rosie at feeding time. We aren't sure if Esther was just a piggy or if Nova had a difficult time latching on and getting her fair share, but life was a struggle for her. When Rosie felt satisfied that Esther had been fed, she hopped out of the nest box, whether or not Nova had managed to nurse at all.

We tried to intervene with supplemental feeding. Nova fought and kicked against every drop of KMR (Kitten Milk Replacement) that we squirted into her wee mouth via syringe. She came to distrust me, although she holds a certain amount of fondness for Evelyn, who was the rescuer and cleaned her up after messy feeding sessions. (One of us had to be the bad guy, so I took on that role, so she would dislike me and love Evelyn.)

Her determination to avoid syringe feeding spurred Nova to get creative about sneaking milk snacks from Rosie when she was distracted. She also began nibbling hay and sampling the food pellets at a slightly younger age than is typical. Although she has managed to grow and gain weight, she is still a petite little bean and we suspect she will always be on the dainty side.

Personality-wise, this little muffin is actually a very peaceful, gentle soul who enjoys a good cuddle, although begrudgingly at first. Rosie would only rarely snuggle with Nova, so her baby heart is longing to be loved and wanted. Rosie didn't outright reject her (she never would have survived if she had), but Nova got much less attention from their mama than Esther received. I tried to fill the gap, but continued to be the dreaded evil being with the syringe of KMR in her mind, even after she was eating plenty of solid food to satisfy her hunger.

Nova is going to need a patient, gentle soul to claim as her own. She tends to be an observant girl, but we believe there is a sweetly sociable cuddle Bun in her heart, if she can get find the love and warmth her little soul is crying out for.

Ideally her family or person will be fairly quiet homebodies and a large chunk of time will be spent interacting with Nova each day. She needs that bond to help her become more confident and assured that she is loved. Because she is such a petite little girl, we believe a home with adults or a family with quiet older children would be a better fit at this point in her life. Other pets in the home would be acceptable, if they are not loud and are very gentle by nature.

UPDATE 4/26/24...Nova interacted very nicely when a client came to meet her and her sister several days ago. Nova was quite content to sit on her lap and be petted for a long period of time. When placed back in the exercise pen so her sister could have a turn, Nova began to play and interact with the toys in the environment. She is comfortable being held and loved on, so this is a huge step forward for little Nova!

As the Hot Cross Buns are raised to be pampered pets, we do require the signing of a Spay/Neuter Agreement as part of our placement paperwork. Please speak to your rabbit-knowledgeable vet to inquire about their services and fees.

All of the baby Buns go to their new homes with a bag full of goodies including: a packet of bunny care information, a small bag of transition food and hay, a snack baggie of old-fashioned raw oats for treats, a toy, and a fleece snuggle mat.

Update 5/10/24 New pictures of Nova (beige background ) were posted today! She is such a cutie with quite the expressive little face. I mentioned on the HCB Shoppe page that I was planning to try crafting some bunny costumes. The first one completed was a little football and we decided to try it on Nova for size. It looks a little big for her, but her expression while wearing it is priceless! She only had it on for about two minutes, but she invoked much laughter with her disapproval.