A Picture of Patches....... tells A thousand Words!

Good evening all!  Yes it is a very good evening indeed, Patches is feeling better =(;o3

I'ts Sweetie here, just giving you all an update on the little patient.  Providing things don't change, I think we may even return to the Kingdom of Fairy Castle Farm and back into our Castle tomorrow!  Not that I don't like spending time with the commoners - a princess bunny's place really is in her castle!

 So, to let you know how Patches is doing today, I thought pictures would do a much better job at showing his current state, so here you have it.    As you can see below he is doing very well!  Patches is grooming himself!

 Alert and he is even using the litter tray - BY HIMSELF!!

 Then he does even more grooming....

 And below you can see him, moving on to grooming the Lounge suite!  I am behind him looking for the fastest way out while he is pre-occupied.  Taking care of a little boy bunny, takes a lot of work you know!

So as you can see, by these pictures taken today, my brother is looking, happy, alert and rested.  

I have my fingers, toes and ears all crossed that nothing changes and he just continues to improve in leaps an bounds!  

Thanks to everyone for sending such heart-warming messages to us.  We really appreciate it.

If you are visiting the blog for the first time or are a regular please don't be shy to leave a comment, I would love to hear from you!   Best wishes from Sweetie xxxx

Patches Pushes On!

Good evening Friends,

Nurse Sweetie here,

Our little man had My Yollie very worried last night!  I hear she held her breath for over an hour - frightened Patches was taking his last breath!

Thank you to all who have passed on words of comfort and advise - thank you!

It is with great pleasure I let you know that no only did he continue to take breaths and start drinking some water, but it seems that after passing yet another yucky clot and sludgy wee he started to nibble at his meadow hay on his own again, phew!

We are hoping that the drama was debris partially blocking the urethra, poor little man, it must be agony for him. He really is a tough bun though and is even letting My Yollie massage his tum and bladder to try and mix the contents with the fresh fluids being pushed through.

(This was taken before Patches got sick)

When My Yollie first noticed the symptoms last night that worried her (flared nostrils, stiff and tense body, refusing food and drink and continually trying to strain with no result in the litter tray), she thought he had over done it in the day.  She now thinks the movement probably did him good to move things around in his bladder, however he also needed to increase the fluids even more to help thin the urine even further.  This is the course of action now.

Till tomorrow, fingers and toes and ears crossed.  Nurse Sweetie signing off! xoxoxox

Patches' Progress Report ...

Hi all, it is Sweetie here to give you all a progress report on my little brother. 


But, firstly I would like to say, a big THANK-YOU!!!! This is for all the kind messages (via facebook) of love, prayers and support being sent our way!  
If all your words of kindness and love alone could cure my brother, he would already be completely healed!
 It means a lot to us and I have been passing them all on to him.  They seem to help lift his mood too.  So thanks again to everyone!!


So on to his progress to date.  Patches is still in a lot of pain.  He still has very "sludgy" urine, he is very stressed.  My Yollie is doing her best, round the clock care, we hope it is enough.


On the upside, he has started eating and drinking for him self. I hope this means he's the "will" to  get better, or he has just given up fighting My Yollie.  Whatever the reason it's nice to see him making some progress.


On the down side, Peeing is a major issue!!  It really HURTS him to get started.  For a silent animal he is really scaring me when he strains so hard and involuntary screams come out, it's horrible.  So much so, my Yollie called the vet back and has been told to increase the pain meds. She also discussed a safe and practical way to assist in reduce the initial pain of urinating by applying light pressure over his abdomen and rump, to help minimise this strain.  It seems to work.  It's gotten to the point that every time Patches sees My Yollie he gets in to the "Safe Peeing Stance" rump raised up on tippy-hocks ready to give peeing a go!  If you could call this funny during all this heart ache, you would say it does look rather comical.  

Here above you see my Daddy, Angel demonstrating the  "Safe Peeing Stance"

Then there is the matter of keeping his bott-bott clean and dry (just like human bubs with nappy rash) it's not nice to have scolding pee sitting on the skin, ouchy! So he has to be bathed and thoroughly dried to prevent this painful condition. Just until his pain has reduced that he can once again groom himself.


As much as I tease my little brother and call him "Goofy" I really do love him very much and we are best buddies, I made My Yollie trail letting me spend the nights with Patches for company and some grooming help, I don't mind acting as nurse-maid while My Yollie gets some sleep. 
He seems to settle a little more when I'm there, but I get too tired and need my time alone during the day, so I leave him be. 

The down side of Patches' isolation is that my daddy, Angel is all confused and worried that Patches will draw attention to us prey animals on account of he smells so bad (from the urine) daddy keeps trying to drive him away. So we have our own private quarters away from Daddy and Mummy-buns (who feels the same) just for the night - then in the morning I return to the castle and Patches stays safe and warm away from Daddy's sight.  I am sure once Patches is feeling better, Daddy will be happy for him to come home again.  Time will tell.

Daddy and Patches and me during "Better" days

So all in all, an improvement with the eating. But still a long road ahead and prayers that the sludge dilutes asap!  

One last mention both My Yollie and I would like to make is for all the wonderful assistance and guidance from,

Dr Mary Devane, our Veterinarian.  Dr Mary comes from the UK so she is a bunny expert!  Full of wonderful information and a wealth of experience and knowledge rarely seen locally for "pocket" pets. Thank-you Dr Mary! (click here to see clinic details):  http://www.mvol.com.au/southernanimalhospital/general-vet-information.html  If you are looking for a specialised Rabbit Vet - we think she is your girl!

Remember, we love to hear your thoughts, don't be shy - leave us a comment!  We wont bite!
Will keep you posted , take care 


from "Nurse" Sweetie xoxox  

Poor Patches is in "home" Critical Care ....

Good Evening to you all,

Well it's really not very good for us at our end, I will get to why in a moment.  I do hope you are all having a good time and are well and happy!

We are very happy to have our humans back home from their long, long, long time away in Bali!  It has been the longest 23 days of my life.  Going by the tightness of My Yollies hug and number of kisses, I think she felt it too!!  I got in writing, a signed promise that she will NEVER leave us for that long EVER again!  Ok, enough stalling, let me get on to the other news.....

...It is with great sadness, I report that my poor brother, Patches is very unwell at the moment.  My Yollie noticed two days after returning from her Holiday that he did not look his usual self.  The signs were subtle, even I missed it!  But luckily for Patches she didn't.  He seemed to be depressed and isolating himself and she noticed he was sitting in his own pee (when we have a clearly marked and designated latrine).  No bunny does this by choice!  We are such clean animals, prey animals and this would be a dead give-away of our exact location, and then we would be dead - so a big No No!!

After a visit to the Vet, we found out  he is suffering from an excruciatingly painful urinary disease caused by excess calcium in his blood-stream.  His urine has turned to "sludge" see : www.rabbit.org/health/urolith.html it has the worst odour and it's thick, sandy and has blood present.  Not a nice thing for any bunny, but like stones, especially bad for boy bunnies!!!!  This was most likely caused by the sudden change in his diet with a gross increase of pellet food given over the past month (unfortunately while being bun-sat). The sitter feels horrible, not realizing the impact of over feeding pellets can have, sadly this was caused by kindness!

To give him his best fighting chance, My Yollie has him in "home" critical care.  After visiting the local vet, armed with all the necessary supplies, My Yollie is determined he will get through this and live to "goof" another day.

 Her plan of action is as follows ...

1.  NO pellet food allowed!!! (this goes for all of us - until she can be sure it is only Patches who is effected).  Also,  NO  Calcium Rich Hay (Lucerne or Alfalfa). He is to eat safe MEADOW HAY,  MEADOW HAY and yes you guessed it more MEADOW HAY. This is our favourite healthy food.

2. Lots of dark leafy greens, lower in calcium; Endive, celery leaves, carrot tops, corriander, rocket, Radish tops and capsicum.

3. LOTS and LOTS of WATER, any way she can get him to take it. Syringe fed, bowl, puréed with raw veggies or just dunking his leafy greens prior to feeding.

4. Making sure he does not stop eating for prolonged periods. (This causes bunny's digestive system to cease up and they will die in a short period of time).

5. Giving him his prescribed medication.  No matter how much he fights it.

6. Lastly, lots and lots of LOVE!!  This will help lower his stress levels and don't we all love a little TLC!!!

My Yollie is devastated, as we all are. My Yollie will do everything in her power to help Patches in any way she can.

I will keep you posted on his progress.

Take care, Sweetie

A tribute to Blossom *1993 ~ 2011*

Good Day,

It is with great sadness that I share with you all our dear old girl, "Blosssom" passed away Wednesday morning. She will be greatly missed by us all but mostly by her companion  Holly.

Sweetie was too upset to post this, as she misses her little guard dog very much.

Blossom lived a very, very long and adventurous life, filled with many wonderful experience and was an endless bundle of joy to many, many people and furry friends alike.

I would like to share two of my lasting memories of Blossom's quirky personality. When greeted by Blossom she would come bounding up and then flip over onto her back, tummy in the air.  You would think she was after a tummy rub, but oh, no - not for Blossom, this was her strange way of just saying "hello" as she would proceed to arch her back so the top of her head was firmly pressed into the ground and her paws were wildly waving at you in the air! My other lasting memory is of a frustrated Blossom annoyed that anyone dare to stare at her while eating, this was a major "no-no" and the height of  rudeness in her book!!!!!  Should she catch you just glancing in her general direction once her food dish was served, well, she would promptly back away, circle her food twice (in reverse) then try to "bury" it over using her nose against the floor!?!  This is how I will always remember my dear Blossom! Oh and chasing anything with feathers, of course!

Now a few words from my little 7 yo girl .....


Hi, I would like to share my best time with Blossom.  When I used to play with Blossom, my favourite thing to do  was blow on her face.  When I did this, she would cover her eyes with her paws and then after she would jump up.  Then she would crouch down, with her bottom in the air, daring me to do it again.  She would make me laugh and smile when we played this game.  I am very sad my little friend has passed away and will miss her furry face "furry" much.  And, Blossom, if you are listening to this i love you very much, "bubble-pops" (from Leilani)

We take some comfort knowing she is up there in doggy heaven with her old friend "Malibu" finally accepting her angel wings, at peace and no longer suffering.  We know she is able to watch over us all and her Kingdom, our little Guardian Angel-Pup and is keeping everyone safe.

R.I.P Blossom

Hoppy Good Friday Everyone!!!

Good Friday to you all!

 what have you guys been up to ??

We have had a splendid Friday full of yummy treats. Today it was a bouquet of Parsley, Basil and Sage.  I love my herbs and they help keep pests away too.

My daddy-bun, Angel love Lavender.  His favourite bit is the wood.  I don't mind the leaves or flowers but I don't really like the wood except to annoy daddy by stealing it when he is not looking and hiding it under the hay he sleeps on. I think it is very funny to watch him sniffing and shaking his head, it's like he knows it's around somewhere, he just doesn't know where! (hee, hee, hee).

My humans got to go to the Zoo today (lucky things) and they told me all about it when they got back.

Firstly they got to see the Giant Panda - this is Wang Wang (pron Wong-Wong)

We think he is very clever to get up so close to the visitors. And very brave.

 Here we have the Bunny residents of the Adelaide Zoo!!!  They look so happy don't they? Very relaxed  Bunny "Puddles" everywhere.  I think I should be jealous, but My Yollie treats me so well, I just can't be mad with her. And she did only take 2 photos, so she could not have stayed there too long, could she??  Well I certainly hope not!

So that is really all I have to report for this Good Friday.  

Take care everyone and have a Hoppy Easter Holiday!!  From everyone here at Fairy Castle Farm!! xoxoxoxo

Please let us know how you plan to spend your Easter ! Leave us a comment, we love to hear all your messages, don't be shy - even if it's just to say hi!

Oh, I nearly forgot, The "Big Guy", "E.B." or as you may know him "Easter Bunny" asked me to pass on a very, very important message to everyone who reads this .....

Please, please, this Easter, buy chocolate bunnies, NOT real ones.  

We are a very long and expensive commitment.  We have the same lifespan as a dog or cat (pretty much) and DO NOT want to be kept in a cage. 

 Think long and hard about the responsibly of having a rabbit as a member of your family. 

 If you still  think you are up for it, then adopt!!! 

 Go to your local shelter and speak to the people there, where you can give a shelter/rescue bunny a forever home!

Yay for School Holidays!!

Howdy all,

Welcome to all our new guests from around the world, Ukraine, Italy, New Zealand, Malaysia, USA, Canada just to name a few!!  Thanks for visiting.

Well it is the start of the Easter School Holidays and our little Human is home for 2 whole weeks.  We cannot get enough of her!!  It has been binkies, nudges and bunny races non stop!!

So today it is a quick update, because my little human is working on her own entry for tomorrows post and she has even taken the photos herself!!!  So here is a sneak preview ......

She's not to shabby with the ol' camera is she? She is only 7 years old!!!  We love her soooo much!

Hope you like it so far and tomorrow you will see even more.

Also sadly, our  Old Girl Blossom, seems to have taken a turn for the worse today and we are praying for her. She does not seem to be in pain and is still wanting to eat and drink, but she is not able to move around much on her own anymore. We pray she is at peace soon and we are keeping her as comfortable as possible.  Thanks for all your kind words and your good thoughts and well wishes for our Old Girl.

Finally, Take care and don't forget to let us know what you think!!

Sweetie oxox