Our Little Construction Workers

We got Oscar and Chloe when they were just a few weeks old, we wanted our bunnies to be trusting and friendly so we have always handled them a ton and exposed them to different environments.  As a result they are extremely comfortable around people, dogs, chickens (even though the hens peck them!), horses, you name it!  

We love that our bunnies aren't afraid of anything and are so bonded to us, but that confidence can also be a bit scary since rabbits are pretty much at the bottom of the food chain!  

Dolly loves Chloe and Oscar

We've always let them run and play in controlled areas, and they absolutely love it, but as they've gotten older and faster it's a bit harder to keep them from dashing off into hiding places that rabbits are so drawn to!   Oscar disappeared under a hay pile for about 20 minutes one day and I thought he was a goner!  After moving every single bail of hay I finally found him stretched out taking a little nap under the very back pallet the hay was sitting on.  From that day forward I decided Oscar and Chloe's freedom would have to be a bit limited.

Our solution?  Bunny harnesses!

And now you understand the title of the post :)

Walking on a leash is definitely not a natural thing for rabbits.  Rabbits run in fast bursts and then stop, the bursts are also rarely in a straight line! We took some time today to get them used to the harnesses and give them a little play time.

It was a tangled mess, but the leash made it much easier to get Chloe out of her hiding place

There he goes!

Overall it was a success, poor Chloe did get her leg tangled in the leash and I think it scared me worse than it scared her.  If you've never heard a bunny cry and yipe, it's a HORRIBLE noise!  I had no idea these quiet little critters could make that much noise.  

Chloe decided maybe she should just stick close to me after the evil leash got her :)

Oscar also needed a rest after all of the excitement

It doesn't take much to wear them out so we called it a day!  

Keeping these guys controlled on a harness is definitely going to take some practice and lots of time easing them into life on a leash, but for now we are happy that we can keep track of them easier and keep them safe without having to take away their favorite pastime.