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Sisyphus

4/5/2013

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ifBaby cottontails have a 90% mortality rate in human hands. It's nature's way of saying, "This is food. Don't try." And yet...Warren Cadbury Cottontail has survived over 24 hours in my care. I didn't expect him to last the night. I don't expect he will be alive tomorrow. Rationally, I probably should've let George eat him, instead of chasing the dog around, screaming, and literally prising the bunny from George's smelly, drooling Jaws of Death. What can I say? I'm a woman. A bleeding heart. A fool. An animal lover. And, despite jading life experiences, I still believe in goodness, compassion, the will to survive, and that love goes a long way to fixing everything. Even baby bunnies.
So Warren Cadbury Cottontail, his back legs weak, his puncture wound scabbed over, sleeps in an artificial warren: a cat carrier with a towel, some scrap wool, some greens (which he's too little to eat), and two microwaved gloves (one with elbow macaroni, the other with rice). I feed him from a syringe several times a day, a mixture of kitten milk replacer and electrolyte solution which may not fulfill his nutritional demands. This morning I collected cecotrophes from the bunnies next door, because bunnies eat some of their poop to encourage proper gut flora. He wouldn't take it, and no other probiotic will do. I weigh him twice a day, because a day of weight plateau or loss can mean death to a bunny. Honestly, I don't know how they survive.
Warren's a fighter. I hope he makes it. And if he doesn't, he won't die alone or in pieces.
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    Madeline is a fiber artist, author, shepherd, and music student. Ballyhoo Farm is the culmination of her passion for animals, horticulture, and sustainable farming practices, a dream she's worked to build since childhood.

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