The place for news, updates, announcements, and water bottle gossip from the Buns and their humans.

Hot Cross Hoppenings

February 22, 2024

October 10, 2024

It's a day late, but we do have a new blog post today! Today's topic was a quick post about bunny vaccinations. We're having a new roof put on as I type this, so the banging and thuds overhead made for an interesting writing environment. LOL

We're happy to share that Theodosia is continuing to do well with her new family and is already more relaxed and accepting gentle pets. Yay, Dozey!

There is a great deal of anxiety in the rabbitry with the pounding roofers doing their job. We're very hopeful that the potentially expectant mama Buns aren't too upset. Nest Box Watch starts on Monday and I'm a bundle of nerves as we wait to see if Gumption is going to be a first-time daddy.

Theodosia joined her new family today! By all accounts things are going well and she is going to be given lots of time to settle in and quietly explore her new surroundings. Dozey's new family loves and respects animals and we know she will be given every opportunity to form a wonderful relationship with her new them. We are so excited with her placement. She waited for a year and a half following her spay to find the right family and she has been blessed with a very good one!

October 9, 2024

October 6, 2024

We received a wonderful surprise this afternoon! The second family who came to meet the does during the Retired Bun Matching Event contacted us to let us know they would like to be matched with Theodosia! They had been trying to decide if they wanted one of the older Buns or if they wanted to wait for a baby, so they met with us and asked lots of questions while meeting and interacting with all the girls. They wanted to take some time to think things over, (which we fully appreciated and respected since adopting an animal on a whim can lead to many regrets) and we were so excited that they reached out to us today to say they want to give Dozey a home! They are gathering supplies and setting up their home for her, but we're pretty sure she will be joining them later this week. :D

We're part of the way through our Retired Bun Matching Event!

Country Road just went home with Reba, Jordan, and their five year old Holland Lop doe, Winry. Country was quite the gentleman and Winry was very curious about him. We are confident that she will help him enjoy life and teach him to do many fun things. Reba and Jordan are very knowledgeable, experienced rabbit people, so we know Country is in the best of hands. He will even get to celebrate his birthday with them when he turns four years old next Saturday! I confess it was hard to say goodbye to this incredibly sweet little buck, but we know he will love his new life with his new family. <3

October 5, 2024

October 2, 2024

We added a quick blog post today about why we have the bucks and does spayed/neutered prior to placing them. It doesn't contain anything earth-shatteringly insightful, but it comes from the heart and our experiences over the years of trying to do the best for our rabbits.

Evelyn and I are cautiously optimistic that there may be some new arrivals later this month. Henrietta is looking rounder. Penelope is becoming cage defensive which is very unlike her. (I didn't think she cooperated with Gumption, so if there are no babies, we will be making a trip to the vet to rule out any health issues). Rosie is acting a bit odd and distant, which isn't like her, while her sister Posey is being even more affectionate than normal. The only one who is staying about the same behaviorally is Mississippi Mud Pie.

No success in getting Quinoa to cooperate with a buck. Chummy declined her opportunity to be bred, as well. We're holding off on Nora until she gets a bit bigger.

We're looking forward to our matching event on Saturday. Evelyn and I are still trying to decide if the unmatched Buns will remain listed or if we will keep them as pets. The more pet rabbits we have, the fewer breeding rabbits we will have room for, so that is also a consideration for our decision. While we love them and know each of them well, it would be more ideal for each of them having a family of their own.

September 25, 2024

We have a new blog post added to the All Things Bunny Blog entitled: What to Expect When You Bring Home an Older Bun to Love. This is a very timely article as it ties in with our event for placing our retired Buns in Forever Families. The post was specifically written after Olivia, who adopted Genevieve (now named Maple) was saddened and feeling rejected by her because Maple wanted to have nothing to do with her. After seeing the way they interacted beautifully in the safe environment to which she was accustomed (our home), we failed to prepare Olivia for the possibility that Maple might go through a period of adjustment in her new home. Evelyn and I thought all was going to be smooth sailing as she settled in. We were very dismayed when Olivia emailed with her concerns and we are very disappointed in ourselves for not considering all of the ups and downs they could face. We hope that this post will help other families go into older bunny adoption with a better understanding of what each bunny goes through when being introduced to a new home and family.

Although they got off to a rocky start, we still have very high hopes that Maple (I keep wanting to type Genevieve!) will grow to love Olivia and that they will have the wonderful relationship that Olivia envisioned when she decided Maple was the bun for her.

Here's quick update on how things are going with the older Bun adoption event.

We have a family interested in Country Road as a bonding bunny for their older doe and have high hopes that he could bring her much joy after he settles in. They are coming at 10am on 10/5
We have a family coming to meet us and interact with the does to decide if they prefer an older bunny or to wait for a baby They are coming at 1pm on 10/5

If anyone else is interested in meeting the available Buns, we ask that you submit your New Bunny Questionnaire by October 1st, so we can communicate with you and reach out to your references before scheduling an appointment to have you come meet the Buns. We had been hoping for more interest, but know that God always brings the right family for the right Bun, and the right time.

WANTED:

Forever Families for Retired Hot Cross Buns Breeding Rabbits

Country Road

DOB: 10/12/2020

Neutered Buck

Francesca

DOB 3/15/2022

Spayed Doe

Periwinkle

DOB: 4/22/2022

Spayed Doe

Pigeon

DOB: 3/19/2022

Spayed Doe

Theodosia

DOB: 10/15/2021

Spayed Doe

WHO: Anyone who loves rabbits, has gone through our application and approval process, and who is willing to be

matched with an older Holland Lop in need of a wonderful, patient, loving family.

WHAT: Matching opportunity for the cost of each Bun’s spay ($150) or neuter ($75) only.

WHERE: Hot Cross Holland Lops Rabbitry in Oberlin, OH.

WHEN: October 4 & 5, 2024, by appointment only

WHY: To find the very best homes and families for very deserving rabbits

HOW: Start by visiting hotcrossbuns.org to learn about us and the Available Buns. If you believe you would be a good fit for at least one of the available Buns, please complete & submit the New Bunny Questionnaire to begin the

matching process.

Questions?

Please contact us via email at hcbhollands@gmail.com

September 21, 2024

We're so excited to share that Miss Genevieve has a new family! In a rather surprising turn of events, Olivia F, who was coming to meet Country Road, found that Genevieve's outgoing, busy-bunny personality was going to be a better fit for her life. We so enjoyed meeting with her and her dad, and loved watching Genevieve's sparkling confidence win them over. There is no doubt that we are going to miss Genevieve and her bigger-than-life personality, but we know she is going to love life as the pampered pet princess for which she has always demonstrated such a strong affinity.

Well, we had quite the surprise this morning! I was trying to breed a few of the does who had expressed some interest in breeding on Saturday, but the bucks weren't quite getting the job done.

Penelope and Gumption continued to dance around the issue and I don't believe any success was achieved.

Gumption and Posey had better fortune, so we hope she will have a nice litter of wee ones. (Posey often has peanuts, but because Gumption is a false dwarf buck, it's not genetically possible for peanuts to be conceived.)

Quinoa, yet again, had zero interest, but was quite polite about it. Usually when a doe doesn't want to be bred, she will play keep-away, thump, or even lunge at the buck. Not Quinoa. She just keeps her placid expression and hops around happily, or washes her face while driving the buck crazy. She ticks all the boxes of a doe ready for breeding, but she has yet to be willing to be bred for her first litter.

We then, on a whim, decided to see if Sunshine was ready to try again. We had put her in with Sullivan on Saturday, but no sparks ensued and we figured it was just too soon for Sullivan, who is just shy of six months of age, although he is fully mature outwardly. I scooped up Sunshine to check to see if her vent was pinky red in color (this is a sign that a doe is ready for breeding). Apparently I haven't been pressing hard enough on her vent to fully expose her girl bits. When I pressed a bit harder, out popped boy-bits. Our little Sunny is actually a darling little buck! He has always been incredibly sweet and friendly, always ready for cuddles and attention, at an age when most does become a bit more reserved in preparation for motherhood.

After this startling revelation, I went back and re-checked Quinoa, but she is definitely a doe.

September 18, 2024

September 16, 2024

We've had a few busy days at the rabbitry and just wanted to give a quick update. I spent the entire day on Saturday brushing Buns, clipping their nails, and shifting them around to different locations. Once that was complete, we attempted to breed all nine of the does. Keep in mind that each buck and doe attempt lasted at least 20 minutes, so this was a long and painfully slow process. Here's how it went...

Quinoa refused to have anything to do with Sullivan. She didn't dislike him, just ignored him. No possibility of babies.

Nora had the same reaction to Sullivan. Perhaps it was something he said, or maybe he had bad bunny breath? Who knows.

Sunshine was interested in Sullivan, but he couldn't figure out how to make things work. Mounting her head repeatedly did not endear him to her. Because she expressed some interest, we took Sully out and put Gumption in, instead. He was very perplexed and clueless.

Gumption and Chummy proved to be no better of a matchup.; such are the difficulties of trying to pair two newbies together.

We then tried Henrietta with Gumption, and they seemed to figure things out, so there is a possibility of babies from them.

After that, we tried Posey with Sweet Tea. She was quite opposed to the idea and thumped her displeasure with regularity.

Next, we tried Sweet Tea with Rosie. She was interested, but he was being obtuse and not figuring things out, so he was sent to the penalty box, and Gumption was brought back out. That seemed to work, so there's another possible litter on the way.

We brought Finn back out and tried him with Penelope. She was interested, but Finn was still clueless, mounting her head and she rapidly lost interest.

We tried Finn with Missy, which usually works, but nope. He was just having a bad day. Gumption spent some time with Missy and that seemed to work. Litter number three possibility on the way.

We so hope to announce the arrival of some babies in mid-October, but for now we just have to wait and see.

Since we don't have any houseguests or new babies to love on, we're just spending time with the Buns, especially the retired Buns we're trying to match. That is where our focus is going to remain for the next few weeks. We will update photos and videos as time permits, but most of our time is going to be spent interacting with the Buns and responding to email inquiries.

September 13, 2024

We apologize for the lack of updates the past few days. We've received several New Bunny Questionnaires over the past few days (most from people interested in babies) and have been attempting to respond to them in a timely but personal manner. As of 11:15am today, we have caught up and responded to all of the questionnaires and subsequent messages. If you have not received a response, please let us know at hcbhollands@gmail.com. We live in a more rural area and our internet can be a bit finicky. We believe that messages are occasionally not received due to the internet flickering as we send a message out, but we receive no notification of any problems so blissfully believe that 100% of our messages are received as soon as we send them to their recipients.

Our delightful houseguest Buns are going home later today. They will be missed! Hamish and Sweet Pea are still making slow, but steady progress. Miss Sweet Pea actually managed to wriggle out of her pen this morning and I found her having a conversation with Hamish, pressed side-by-side. Their pens are already touching, but she wanted to try a different angle, apparently. LOL.

We were hoping to announce that our Rosie and/or Penelope had babies this week, but no such joy. I'm growing increasingly perplexed by their continued inability/desire to conceive. We have changed food pellets several times and usually have a spurt of fertility with each change, but then they quickly settle back into this routine of no babies for several months. There used to be babies virtually every time we bred them, but that hasn't happened for a few years now. I'm wondering if the problem isn't with the food pellets, but with the hay they have been receiving. We had switched from Farmer Dave Pet Supply hay several years ago to the locally produced orchard/clover mix we could purchase in large quantities for $6-$8 per bale. Since our goats eat the same type of hay, it was convenient, affordable, and they all liked it and ate it well. The rabbits' infertility issues have been niggling at the back of my mind and I wondered if there is something in the local hay mix that is causing the problem. We invested in a couple of bulk boxes of organic high, quality timothy hay to try an experiment and see if the hay makes a difference. We're going to continue to give all of the retired rabbits and specially chosen older and younger breeding rabbits the local hay, while the other breeding rabbits will receive the "new" hay and we'll see how they do. Hopefully we will soon see a direct correlation to hay type and conception rates. We've never wanted to overbreed our rabbits, but not having babies for several months or a doe having only one successful litter in her time as a breeding rabbit is very strange.

We hope no one minds, but we're going to keep the information about the Waiting Buns matching event at the top of the page so it doesn't get lost in the shuffle. We really, really want these lovely Buns to find incredible Forever Families.