Buster's Journey

Sad news

2011-09-12T21:17:00.002+01:00

I am so sorry for not having posted in so long, I know Buster had many followers.
I have some sad news I'm afraid :'-(
Buster passed away about 6 weeks ago and I didn't get to say goodbye to her. She was put down.
The last time I saw her was 1 year ago, right before my baby and I moved out of our house (I had a 'lil boy for those of you who asked, he's now just over two).
Buster remained home with my ex-husband.
I am so sorry, I am distraught as I write this, I just found out. Going through all her pictures and videos, she was loved very much but unfortunately there has been a big change of circumstances in our family and we had to part.
Buster rests in the garden she grew up in, where she jumped and leaped, under the grass she used to lay on, under the snow she used to lick, by the flowerbed :-(
Addio piccola Buster - Farewell Buster - RIP xxx

A YouTube and Bunspace profile for Buster!

2009-06-17T11:13:00.003+01:00

Quick post just to let you all know that I put Buster's
video on YouTube!

And also Buster now has a Bunspace profile!!

Stay tuned for more pics and updates on her blog!

Now, THESE are Buster's sprints!!

2009-06-04T09:20:00.004+01:00

This is Buster on a good day!!
Enjoy!!

Buster's Videos!!

2009-06-01T12:09:00.011+01:00

As promised here's a little clip of Buster's jumps and sprints around the garden!!! (and she was having a quiet day... she's usually a lot faster than this!) Enjoy!!

Another little clip..

More pics :-)

2009-05-23T19:12:00.009+01:00

Buster celebrated her first birthday with lots of treats and a cake made of carrot bread!!

As mentioned Buster is now addicted to baby potatoes..
This is her having a little feast!!

Here Buster is enjoying our fine Irish weather!

It's very hard to catch on camera the sprints she makes - I'll try putting up a video in the future to catch her jumps, twists and sprints around the garden!
These are just a couple of picture taken during those sprints, the pictures have never rendered too well as she's too fast and they always appear blurred!

One evening Buster and my husband were having a little chat..

When Buster got bored and decided to go wandering!!!

~ Happy Birthday Buster!!! ~~

2009-05-21T12:48:00.011+01:00

Well today Buster is 1 year old!!!

It's incredible to think she's come such a long way, from the tiny little leveret that she was when we took her in, to a full grown-up handsome hare that she is now!!

She's doing quite well and she now has a new favourite dish... she loves baby potatoes!!
One day I moved the basket where I keep fresh garlic, onions and baby potatoes to a lower shelf in the kitchen and she discovered it by accident and now she's officially addicted to potatoes! She knows where they are and she helps herself to them every day!!

She's quite nosey and curious, and she’s watchful of anything new or different around the house and she's not afraid of anything!
We soon found out that if we want her to eat something specific there's no point in putting it on her plate as she will not eat it, but hide it into a basket and she is soon into the basket munching away!

Buster having a nap!

After months and months of chewing her wicker basket, Buster finally realizes what it's for!

Buster still takes her beloved bottle!

And oh yes.. she still likes to climb on the flower pots to eat away the soil and the plant!

Ohh this is yummy!

Buster: "How do I get down??"

Buster: "How do I get back up??"

As promised..

2009-03-06T15:32:00.009Z

..a proper update on Buster!

We had a cold spell few weeks ago and we had about 10cm of snow!
Buster LOVED the snow!!
These are a couple of pictures from one of those cold evenings!

She was actually eating the snow! :-)

Here is Buster having her breakfast!

We give Buster fresh grass every day, however the quality of the grass in the winter is not as good as during spring and summer, so we integrated Buster's diet with oat, muesli, peeled carrots, sliced apples, rabbit feed, dried apples and banana, walnuts, sunflower seeds and various other hard biscuits and treats from the pet shop.

A good aul' stretch after breakfast!

So do you think she's grown up since the last time you saw her?

As mentioned, Buster is still taking milk in the mornings.
Her bottle now consists of 15ml of milk, 15ml of cooled boiled water, 3/4 scoop of Welpi (puppy's formula) and half a capsule of acidophilus to keep her flora balanced.

We have tried offering her just milk or just water but she seems to prefer her bottle when there's Welpi in it!

And finally another stretch after her morning bottle!!

Thank you all for your congrats and good wishes! :-)

Apologies!

2009-02-26T17:31:00.002Z

Quick update.. Apologies for not having updated the blog in so long.

Buster is doing great, still drinking from her bottle but she has also been spotted one or two times drinking from her bowl.

She's in good health, she's been brought recently to the vet to get her nails clipped.. she didn't like it.. but I'm sure she's more comfortable now :-)

We're delighted to announce that there is going to be a new addition to our household in June (and I'm not talking about a bunny! :-)

I promise I'll come back soon with lots of pictures and a proper update on Buster!

We need your suggestions to get Buster drinking on her own!

2008-10-27T19:44:00.007Z

Hi all,

apologies for the delay, I know it's been a while and many of you are looking forward to more updates!
Buster is doing well.. I'm sure you'll agree she's grown since you last saw her!

First off, I'd like to answer some questions you've been asking:

Q.: Does she ever hop like a bunny or does she only walk around on her hind legs all the time?
A.: Buster doesn't walk on her hind legs, however, she likes to stand on them while sniffing around. I think it gives her better perception of what's around her in terms of noise and smell.
Having said that, she doesn't hop either, rather, she lopes.

Q.: Is she still drinking her morning bottle?
A.: Yes, we still give her milk in the mornings and water in the evenings. Buster never learned to drink on her own even though we provide her with fresh water in a bowl and in a drinking bottle every day. Hand-feeding her milk and water twice daily are her only means of fluid intake.

Q.: Does Buster hop?
Or she likes to stand on her hind legs?
How are her eyes? Are they still deteriorating?
A.: Re. the walking, see above. Her eyes are still the same, not getting any worse but not getting any better either.
Q.: How does she get around?
A.: By memory

Q.: Because Irish Hares are endangered, are there any plans to breed her? Is her eye condition a genetic problem or just one of those random development errors? Would breeding be too complicated/make the release of the buns impossible?
A.: We've no plans to breed her yet as she is still too young. I remember reading that hares only become adults after the first year and Buster is just over 5 months old. Re. the eyesight, we think it was just a random birth defect and might not be genetic but the truth is we don't know and we hope for the best.

Q.: Have you ever considered making a bunspace fo Buster?
A.: No, we didn't, but we'll probably stick with this blog for the moment.

Q.: I have a sense that she might be a real character. Is she intelligent?
A.: Buster is very curious, the moment you put something new in a room she's there investigating it! That includes finding her stash of treats and removing them from the bags and having a merry little feast when we're not home.
She's now learned to go to the garden and come back to the house on her own: she was always afraid of the step from the kitchen onto the patio but my husband has built her a ramp and she now comes and goes as she pleases when the door is open (she's always guarded).

Q.: Do you let buster roam freely about the house? what about when she does her business? have you litterbox trained her like i hear you can?
A.:Any suggestion on how to train a rabbit or a hare to use a litterbox, please advise! :-)
Buster has a litterbox which she does use from time to time. We put in cat litter at the bottom and corn seeds at the top, however, she's not trained and a brush and pan are always at the ready!

Q.: Will you be spaying her?
A.: We'll seek advice from the vet re. spaying, she's going in for a 6-month check up next month so we'll be asking them.

Okay, I hope I answered all your questions! If I didn't or I left out any questions, please let me know.
Now, onto the drinking problem!
We'd like to ask for your suggestions with regard to getting Buster to drink water on her own.
We have tried giving her water in a bowl (pure water or mixed with apple juice), we have tried the drinking bottles (the upside down ones with a metal tip) and we tried with a feeding bottle however Buster does not drink on her own!
Currently Buster is fed milk in the morning through her feeding bottle and water in the evenings through a syringe with no needle.
We need Buster to be self-reliant for fluid intake.
If you've any advice on how to do this (we already tried what's been suggested so far) please let us know!

Now onto the part you're all looking forward to.... the pictures! :-)

This is Buster in the mornings taking her milk bottle!

What you see under her chin is a wool cotton disc (the make up ones!) so she does not get any milk on her fur.

Buster: "It's not a golf ball, it's my tail!"

Buster: "You need to be aerodynamic in this Irish wind..!"

Buster: "What do you mean I'm getting too big??"

What's missing??

Getting hard to find a comfortable spot..

Buster: "Ahh, found it.."

September pictures!

2008-10-01T20:00:00.007+01:00

First of all, apologies for the late post, I've been quite busy lately and haven't had the chance to update the blog. On the other side, I've 3 weeks worth of pictures so I'm sure you'll forgive me :-)

Buster is doing well..
she's settled back in well after her week away at the vet clinic.
She's developed a liking for our indoor plants and she's quite keen on chewing the earth and leaves! Yesterday she actually climbed into the flower pot!

She also has developed a taste for shoes and jeans! (especially when you're wearing them!)

We heard that hares like bark, so we gave Buster a large branch to nibble at.. turns out she's really fond of it and it's nearly time to find another branch for her!

"Hey, what's cookin'?"

"What do you mean it's not for me?!"

"I wonder where they keep hare food around here.."

"Ok, let's try these presses.."

"Are you sure that casserole is not for me?"

"Let's see what's in this drawer"

"I'll just have a little nibble"

"Ok, maybe another one.."

"And a little bit of this too"

"It wasn't me!"

"I've never seen this plant before in my life!"

"It's good to be the Queen!"

Buster has green fingers!

"I think I'll prune this plant a little bit"

"this too.."

Buster just out of the shower (just kidding!)
In Ireland it's rain season all year round!

Thx for all the comments! Some answers to your questions..

2008-09-12T09:10:00.009+01:00

Wow I still can't believe how many comments Buster has received in the last few days!
Your comments are all wonderful, thank you so much!

I will try to answer some of the questions that you've been asking... but first.. I want to show you all what Buster is doing right now:

Yes, she's taking a nap as usual!

Okay, back to the questions:

Q.: Have you bunnyproofed?
A.: We've tried to as much as we could, all electrical cables have been removed and I always have to make sure I don't leave anything around for her to eat, I've often found she chews on jacket sleeves that are left at the back of the kitchen chairs.
Once I had a pile of clothes for ironing that I had left on a kitchen chair, let's just say that Buster helped reducing the number of items that had to be ironed as she chewed on shirts and t-shirts and whatever she could reach!
Thankfully she doesn't nibble curtains, furniture or carpets..
Occasionally, she climbs on vases and eats the earth and leaves, but I think that's okay for her to do as it's all roughage.
To show you what I mean...

Q.: Did the eye specialist ever tell you what causes his (or her) retinas to deteriorate like that?
A.: To be honest, just for Buster eye sight alone, we brought her to 4 different Vets so far (the last being the eye specialist) to try and get a definitive answer. Nobody seems to know much about it and we've heard different opinions.
The first vet 'flicked her fingers' in front of Buster, she reacted and the vet concluded she had sight (eh, really)
The second vet examined her eyes with a small light and did not pronounce herself either way.
The third vet examined her eyes with a light also and agreed that Buster pupils are permanently dilated and do not react to light, hence the retina not developed theory.
Finally the 'eye specialist' said that Buster has very little sight on both eyes, but just enough to see lights and shadow, no more.
Having said all this, Buster has been at home with us for 4 months now and ever since she was a little ball of fluff we noticed that something wasn't right as she kept on running into things, she did not see a wall or a door in front of her.
Hares are supposed to have great eyesight, so we knew there was something wrong with her eyes. We initially thought it was cataracts but we've since been told the damage is all at the back of the eyes, that she was born this way and she was most likely abandoned by the mother.

Q.: Will you guys get to keep her? Or perhaps this would be too much to take on permanently? (or possibly they won't allow you to)?
A.: Yes, this is a decision we faced few months back. The plan was to release Buster once she was weaned (hares are usually weaned at 6 weeks of age) but we've been told that being blind, release was not an option.
So the three options we were suggested were to either keep her (we already had the Irish Hare Org. approval), or to give her to the Irish Hare Org. which is based in Northern Ireland, or to put her down.
The Irish Hare Org. had offered their help and support should we decide to keep her, and so we did! Buster's been with us ever since!

Q.: Are you sure that's a hare? That leg length to body ratio looks more like a deer or moose.
A.: LOL, yup, I know, she's some legs on her!

Q.: Is Buster still drinking her morning bottle of milk?
A.: Yes, unfortunately she is. And the reason why I say unfortunately is because she relies on her morning bottle as her only mean of fluid intake. Buster never learned to drink on her own. We have tried all ways we could think of: we got one of those upside-down bottles with the metal tip, we used a drinking bottle and tied it upside down (just in case she didn't like the metal tip and preferred the soft teeth), we used sauces and cups of water; nothing ever worked and she never drank on her own.
So for weeks and weeks we gave her a milk bottle in the morning and in the evenings we fed her some water (either in a small syringe on the side of her mouth or on a bottle).
Only last week, after collecting her from the Vet Clinic, Buster was incredibly thirsty, so she took a full bottle of milk, followed by a full bottle of water, and then she approached (for the first time!) the cup of water and she tried 'eating' and 'biting' the water. For about 20 seconds she knew water was what she wanted but she didn't know how to lick it. Eventually she figured out how to lick it and she's been at it for a full 10 minutes!
We've since stopped giving her a water bottle in the evenings, as we wanted her to get thirsty and drink on her own. Unfortunately she hasn't been seen drinking since!
So for the moment, we're still keeping up the milk.
Her bottle of milk in the morning consists of:
- 1 and a half scoop of Welpi (puppy's formula)
- 1 capsule of Acidophilus (to keep her guts healthy)
- 12ml of fresh cream (hares milk is naturally very fat)
- 30ml of cooled boiled water

Buster stretching her back legs!

Q.: Did you build the rabbit run and if so, will you photograph it in a future blog entry?
A.: Unfortunately we haven't got around to build her a run. However, we did get a hutch. Rabbits hutches were not suitable for Buster as they are on two levels with a 'stair' connecting the two, and we thought it would be too dangerous for Buster as she might 'walk' from the top floor right into the hole where the stair is, from the wrong side, in which case she'd fall. So instead we got her a large wooden kennel with a door (vs a flap). The idea was to use the kennel as a hutch where Buster would find shelter in rainy and cold days. The reason why we haven't built the run is that we're starting to doubt whether it's a good idea for Buster.
There are a number of cats in the neighbourhood and our next door neighbour has two dogs. When the dogs play and bark Buster gets very agitated but the real issue here are the cats. We fear that the cats will be all around (and sitting on top of) the run and Buster will die of a heart attack, stress or gut dysfunction (caused by stress). This is the reason why she's at home most of the times and in the evenings she's let out in the garden always guarded.

I hope I have answered most of your questions, if I've left out something, please let me know.
BTW, all advice is welcome re. Buster, if you have any suggestions on how to wean her off the bottle, or getting her to drink on her own or regarding the run outside and what's the safest option for her.

Some big news....

2008-09-11T20:10:00.005+01:00

Well... first of all let me say I'm overwhelmed by the huge interest that this blog has generated (literally overnight!), and I'd like to thank each and every one of you that has posted about our little Buster here, on Cute Overload :) and on other sites and blogs!

Ohh Buster look at the camera.. there's an audience here for you!

My husband and I are only honoured to have the chance to care for this little guy and we're thrilled and amazed every day watching Buster's behaviour and we feel lucky and privileged to have the opportunity to care for such a beautiful creature.
Even though we have tried our best to look after Buster, the road hasn't been uneventful and there have been ups and downs but Buster has always faced each challenge and bounced back!

Just before I give you some updates on Buster, I'd like to bring up a couple of points that have been raised in comments on this blog and on Cute Overload regarding Buster:

- Irish Hares are endangered species and my husband and I are fully aware that leverets should not be picked up from a nest. However, I'd like to reiterate that Buster was found in the middle of a road, he was extremely skinny, dehydrated and needed immediate care. We also tried to return him to the nearest safest spot to where he was found but after a number of hours with regular checking we felt it best for Buster to retrieve him and get him to a vet as soon as possible.
When I brought him to the vet that day I was told 'not to get too attached' as he had gone for very long without food and was going into a hibernation state and was not going to last much longer.
As you can see, Buster is now 16 weeks old and he's thriving!
Also, we've been keeping in touch with the Irish Hare Organization (http://www.irishhare.org/) ever since finding Buster (and we still send weekly and fortnightly updates) and have received great advice and support by Mike Rendle from the Irish Hare Initiative. Mike's knowledge has contributed enormously to the rearing of Buster.

- A second point that I'd like to raise is regarding Buster's diet. I have come across a comment posted on this blog which suggests that Buster is not receiving appropriate food and is instead fed on treats.
Let me reassure you that Buster receives a large amount of fresh roughage, ranging from fresh long grass (changed twice a day, once in the mornings and once in the evenings), various leaves and branches, bark, cabbage, carrots, Oat Hay, Western Timothy Hay, Orchard Grass Hay, Brome Hay, Dandelion, Parsley and Mixed Fine Herbs.
As a supplement Buster is also given dry oat and rabbit food.
Occasionally, Buster receives treats but the majority of Buster's diet is appropriate.

Now.. onto the latest with Buster!

Buster was 16 weeks yesterday (we believe he was born on 21st May 2008)
Hubby and I have gone on vacation to Italy for a week and Buster has been kindly cared for by a local vet in a Veterinary Clinic (thanks Susan!)

An eye specialist has visited Buster and has agreed that he has very very little sight on both eyes so he 'might' see lights, shadows and movements only.
He agreed that the retinas in Buster's eyes never developed properly and the damage is at the back of the eyes, so he can't be operated.

Here's the big news...!!
We were initially told that Buster was a boy, but apparently it's "almost" impossible to determine hares gender (hares can contract their genitalia so it's very hard to tell).
Only last week when Buster was left into the Vet's care, we've been informed that there's a high probability (80%) that Buster might be a female!
My husband added that as grumpy and demanding as Buster was, Buster could have only been a girl!!

Some more pictures!

Buster can stretch up to my knee!

ahhh good stretch!!

'Yaaawwwwnnnn'

Buster takes a big mouthfull of grass!!

Ahhh.. isn't he (oops! she I mean!) cute??!

Buster is asleep on my arms! :-)

Zzzzz.. Buster loves sleeping

More pics!

2008-08-12T20:57:00.005+01:00

Buster is doing really well!
He now is 13 weeks old!
Still on his bottle of milk, his daily routine, although I'm progressively watering down his bottle as he should have been weaned 7 weeks ago!

Buster eats all sorts of things: oat, muesly, carrot, apple, rice crispies, special Ks, green beans, boiled potatoes, Marietta biscuits :-)
Fresh grass is the most important element in his diet and he's given plenty of it every day, two or three times a day.
Plus of course all treats from the pet shop including cereals sticks, banana or apple bites, dandellion sticks, fruit sticks, hay and so forth!

More pics!

Buster climbs over a Thinkpad bag but he's some difficulties in getting back down!

Zzzz.. asleep on my lap

Buster out for the count in the mornings!

Oh yummy!

Buster wakes up, belly up, on my lap..

..and decides to go back to sleep!

Zzzzz

He's still the cutest animal I've ever seen!

It's been a while...

2008-08-05T13:07:00.008+01:00

Well.. it's been a while since posting some updates and new pictures of Buster..

He's an adolescent hare now.. Tomorrow he'll be 11 weeks old!
And he's as wild and as mad as a hare can be!

Unfortunately, he had a small accident 2 weeks ago: a close encounter with a cat..
Buster was out in the garden, as usual nibbling away at some grass, sprinting and hopping as he does.
A cat jumped onto the garden and started chasing Buster.
Thankfully my husband was in the garden when this happened and he was able to send the cat off, however poor Buster had gotten such a fright that he ran, at full speed, into a concrete wall, bounced off it and knocked himself unconscious :-(
Of course him being blind and not being able to see where he was running didn't help.

Initially we thought the worse, but thankfully he gained conscience again in a few minutes.
He was bleeding from his nose and mouth and had a bloodshot on his eye from the heavy impact.
We rang the vet emergency line (the accident was late in the evening) and we were told not much to do but to keep him warm and hydrated for the night.
The vet examined him the following morning and reassured us that no bones were broken.
Buster was given an injection of pain killers and also some oral antibiotic because he inhaled some of his own blood from the nasal passages and his chest infection had made its way back.
The vet was also able to confirm that Buster is blind as his pupils don't dilate in the dark and it was suggested that possibly the retina never developed when he was a baby. This only confirmed the theories we've had all along.

Buster did not move from his basket for days, and we hand fed him milk in the mornings and water in the evenings with a 1-ml syringe, and oat and fresh grass during the day. When awake, his movements were very slow but he slept most of the time.
The impact had been so bad that the wall had 'shaved' some fur off his head.
Buster slowly recovered from this head concussion and he's now back to normal
(the hunt for the cat continues..)

We plan to build a run for Buster, completely enclosed on the sides and on the top by chicken wire so no cats can get it.
We have bought him a medium size kennel with a door for him to use as his hutch.
Once the run is in place, Buster will be able to stay outside on his own!

Strangely enough, he's still not weaned off his milk bottle.
It's the one routine he loves in the mornings and he gulps down a full 50-ml bottle of Welpi mixed with fresh cream and pro-biotics.

Some pictures of Buster!

Buster combing his fur and grooming himself!

What a handsome boy!

Zzzzzzz...

Buster now climbs the stairs and sneaks into the bedrooms upstairs!

Buster: "May I have some privacy, please?"

Buster getting 'carried' from the garden to the house for his antibiotic!

Feeding and Cleaning!

2008-06-23T19:49:00.008+01:00

I think some of the cutest moments I have observed with Buster were (and still are) watching him drinking from his bottle, cleaning himself, yawning and stretching.. all of the things that make you go 'awwwwhhh' :-)

These pictures are taken during his morning feeds when he has his bottle (let me add he goes at it like there's no tomorrow!!) and afterwards when cleaning himself (something he does pretty much all the time but especially after a feed, or if his fur is wet either because the grass outside in the garden was wet or because I wiped away the milk from his chin after a feed).
His cleaning routine consists of cleaning his ears and face (he sits up like a squirrel then wets his front paws with his tongue and cleans his face and ears) then he cleans his neck and chest, then his legs and paws.. it's interesting how he doesn't just clean but he also brushes his fur using his nails!

This is Buster in the mornings:

Buster likes to hold his bottle!

Nice and full, Buster is offered a kernel of grass - he loves nibbling hay after his bottle!

Now the cleaning begins!

Don't forget your feet!

Buster is 1 month old!

2008-06-20T11:16:00.004+01:00

Well.. Buster has now been with us for 4 weeks!
He's now down to just one bottle of milk a day, in the mornings.
I let him wonder around the house during the day when we're at work.. then I come home at lunch time and in the evenings and we leave him outside for as long as we can.. guarded always from cats and magpies.

He's really active in the evenings when he's outside, he sprints from one side to the other of the garden, runs in a zig-zag pattern, jumps up in the air and so on.. he seems fairly content. Then around 10 o'clock at night it's bed time, he sits on my lap or belly and falls asleep!

Buster's bed time:

Buster wondering around the garden..

Buster is 3 weeks old!

2008-06-12T13:56:00.004+01:00

Buster has now been with us for 3 weeks!

This is a chart of this progress for last week, week 2:

The chest infection has now completely gone away and there's no noise coming in from his chest or nose - thankfully! We were so worried!

Today Buster weights an healthy 220gr!!

Also his diet is slowly changing..
Buster eats fresh grass from the garden (whatever he finds.. clovers, dandellion, rose and lillies leaves, etc) hay, oat flakes.
He's still drinking milk from his bottle but he only takes 2 bottles a day whilst before he used to take 4.
We changed his routine because he would drink his first two bottles (morning and lunch) and then he refused the following two (evening and night) - so he now drinks morning and evening.

He's very eager with his bottle, he sits up on his hind legs, puts the entire teat into his mouth (he's enough strength to pull the bottle away from my hands!) and then he lifts his front paws and puts them on the bottle!!

He loves his fresh grass outside in the garden, he chews on pretty much everything he finds! Some days he'd rather nibble at my jeans than any greens!

We also got him some 'treats' in the pet shop, like carrot pellets, mint and dandelion sticks and so forth for him to chew on when he's a good boy!

Some more pictures of Buster..

Buster sniffing.. "do I smell fresh grass?"

Buster washes his face before a meal..

"hmmm.. decisions decisions.."

"hello there!"

Buster certainly isn't camera-shy!

Buster had a chest infection! :-(

2008-06-03T21:35:00.008+01:00

Some more updates on Buster..

We got a fright last week when Buster developed a chest infection. We were afraid he had inhaled some milk while drinking from his bottle (this can cause aspiration pneumonia and can be fatal) as he was making noises from his nose when breathing and there was a rumbling noise coming in from his chest. We brought him to the vet who listened to his chest and agreed there were fluids in his lungs and gave him an injection of antibiotics and put him on a 7-day oral antibiotic course.

Thankfully the infection has slowly gone away.. today his chest feels clear - he'll be on antibiotics one more day.

We were so worried!

Apart from this episode, he's doing really well!

He now weights 136gr (he's nearly 3 times bigger than he was when we got him) he loves his bottle.. we started giving him some Milupa oat (porridge) integrated to his milk, some probiotics to help his flora during the antiobiotic course. Also he loves hay and constantly nibbles at it.

We try to leave him in the garden for as long as we can (always guarded from cats and birds) and he loves nibbling at fresh grass.

He's growing so fast.. it's unbelievable.. here are some more pictures... :-)

Buster:"Where's my dinner?"

He loves spending time out in the garden and he's getting faster and faster by the minute!
The first day we had him, he could not sit on the grass without stumbling on it!
Now he leaps across our garden - it's delightful to watch him!

And no, the grass is not long. Buster is very small!

Ok, maybe a little bit long (it's better for Buster)

Ahh.. nothing like a good stretch and a snooze after lunch!

Buster: "Phew, 23 degrees in Dublin, who'd have thought?"

Week 1 Progress

2008-05-28T21:18:00.014+01:00

This is Buster's progress since day 1...

Over the past 7 days Buster has made some great improvements, he's put on weight, he's grown and he's very alert!
Leverets are notoriously difficult to rear and many things can go wrong at different stages of their development. I have been keeping in touch with the Irish Hare Organization and have received great advice and support (thanks Mike!).

We weight Buster every morning before his first feed to monitor progress, then he has his bottle.. the quantity he drinks depends on how much sleep or exercise he got, varying between 3 and 14ml.

He tends to be still asleep in the morning and does not drink too much but on his second or third feed he monsters down his bottle!!

Then he has a fourth feed in the evening that keeps him full and asleep for the night!

We wipe the milk off his chin and neck after his bottle, dry him and let him wonder around for a bit..

Also, his teeth are starting to grow and he started nibbling at everything!

We are offering him some branches with leaves for him to chew on but he's not interested in them yet!

His wild nature is starting to come through and although he likes to be held and falls asleep in our hands, some days he's just wild and it gets harder and harder to feed him.

Some more pics...

Wakey, wakey, it's dinner time!

Buster finds it hard to stay awake!

Also, we're concerned about Buster's eyesight.

Leverets are supposed to be born with good eyesight but Buster seems to be banging into everything.. he runs straight into a wall or a door and even outside he does not seem to see the fence around the garden. He does not respond well to movements but only to sounds and smells and we're starting to think he might be blind..

Even when feeding him, if I move away his bottle only half an inch away he goes wild looking for it but he does not see it, not until he feels it against his mouth.

Having discarded the hypothesis that he might be color blind with some colors (makes no difference what color the edge is, he will run into it!) and that he's no sense of depth, we did some research and came across a site which explains that hares have back vision, so they see all the way around them but have a blind spot right in front of them, so perhaps this is an explanation..

Or else, he was born blind.
If Buster is really blind this is going to affect his release but perhaps it's still too early to tell - so we'll wait and see how things pan out and it might be the case that it could just be an infection and his eyesight will return - either way, we love him to bits, we've become incredibly attached to him - really hard not to, he's the cutest little fella!!

A squirrel? A mouse? A baby kangaroo? A kitten?

Buster looks slightly sheepish about his weight!

Feed time!

More updates on him soon...

Buster's rescue and recovery

2008-05-28T20:22:00.002+01:00

After my colleague found this little leveret sitting still on the road outside work, she picked him up and brought him into the office and we discussed what to do.
We rang a local pet shop looking for advice and we were told to put him back outside.

So we brought him back out and put him near the closest hedgerow to where he was found (when the picture below was taken). We watched him from a distance but he was so small that he could not sit still without stumbling on the grass; it was so cold and he was shaking and it had just started raining.
There were no hares around and we thought he would not survive the cold night away from his nest, so I offered to take him home to keep him warm and bring him back to the same hedgerow in the morning.

Once home, he was kept warm, fell asleep and slept all night.

I did some research in the meantime and discovered that the mothers feed leverets at night, so chances were that the mother would come back for him...

The following morning I brought him back to the same hedgerow. It was lashing rain.
I waited a bit to see what he did, then went into work.
My husband who also works for the same company checked on him while I was in the office. We waited few hours but the leveret was still in the same place in the grass, he did not move back into the cardboard box to seek shelter and did not go under the hedgerows, no signs of the mother and at that stage he was completely drenched under the rain so we decided to bring him back in.

I took a permit from work and went to the pet shop looking for some milk I could feed him with. I was advised to bring him to a vet clinic as they had nothing there to feed the leveret and he needed immediate attention as he was very dehydrated and was gone into a hibernation state. (They said not to get too attached as he might not make it...)

I rushed to a vet who gave me some milk (powder milk for puppies) to feed him with.

I took the leveret back to the office and gave him a big feed..
Slowly, he made it out of the woods.

He's been with us since.

My husband and I have named him Buster.

World Wide Web, meet Buster. Buster, meet the World Wide Web.

2008-05-27T17:59:00.002+01:00

Hi all,

Buster is a leveret (a baby hare) that my colleague has found outside our workplace. He was sitting still in the middle of the road and she picked him up as she was afraid a car might have hit him. She could not take care of him (as she has a dog at home) and I was happy to take him home with me to rear him until he'll be old enough to be released back into the wild.

Today Buster is 6 days old. I would like to use this blog to monitor his progress, growth and development for the next 6 weeks, when he'll be weaned and therefore ready to be released back into the wild. This is his blog, his journey...