And it all started with a couple of nests from my good friend Altair Orellana. I’ve been intrigued by the passion and enthusiasm that owning a virtual pet in Second Life arouses, but I hadn’t gotten around to owning one myself.  Although they appealed, I worried about lag; and our home sim seems to suffer dreadfully from it as is, so conscientious sort that I am I decided against having any. But then Altair showed me her home and her bunnies, and well I got bunny broody. She also assured me that they weren’t as mega laggy as I feared, and teh deal was thus sealed!

Altair gave me the pick of her nests.  I was flabbergasted and totally honoured, but I didn’t have a clue!! I mean what do you do with them, how hard are they to look after, and ultimately, is there any point? There seems to be a massive trade in bunnies and bunny-related items, leading to (some would say) over-breeding and a complete saturation of the market.  But I’m not interested in being a breeder, I’d just like a couple of bunnies to call my own -so I gratefully accepted her gift and got myself all set up for the trials and tribulations of bunny ownership.

I got myself kitted out ready for the inevitable arrival of my fur-babies.  I needed a nice wee hutch, and of course some nommage for my wee charges too, after all being born is an arduous task and they would surely be hungry?  I placed the nests nervously in the hutch, rezzed a bean-bag and sat and waited.  It takes about an hour ( you have a constant countdown hovering above the nest) and I must say it was a very tense hour indeed. I was constantly updating my plurk-feed and getting very, very excited. It never once struck me as being ridiculous or silly, I was just dead excited about the imminent arrival of my very own wee bunnies. Mad isn’t it? The countdown progressed, and then the moment was upon me..who would appear first?

The nest on the left hatched first, and a gorgeous little black boy lop appeared. As you can see from the ears sticking out of the straw it wasn’t long before he was joined by….

..a beautiful female with gorgeous upright ears. YAY! I was beyond myself with pride at this point, and at the same time completely amazed as to how immersed I had become in the whole process.

They immediately started hopping around and I was really struck by how well they were (are) animated. Their eyes blink, they hop around within a set-range and not only that but they dream wee baby bunny dreams when they sleep (of carrots and green fields, naturally)

It’s actually quite easy once you’re read up on the process of keeping bunnies.  I found the official  OZIMALS blog  to be a straightforward resource and it is home to an active  forum with many members updating daily, but I must confess that I found the information at Jolly Farm Online to be much more accessible.  There’s a fabulous in-world store associated with the blog from where I purchased my beautiful hutch for a mere L$100.  The owner, Sookie Slafford, breeds bunnies and has an amazing stock available to buy.  Her breeding cabin is an awesome sight to behold too; she has all her bunnies displayed beautifully and should you decide to purchase from her store all the nests are arranged by breed so you can be certain of getting just the right bunny for you.  Not only that she is amazingly helpful to boot.  It’s so worth visiting even if you aren’t looking to own your own virtual pet because it’s just so elegantly constructed.  You can also purchase some great accessories, such as baskets and backpacks and really gorgeous cushions and chairs, I highly recommend it.

A couple of days in and the bunnies are thriving!  They now have names, Sookie and Dexter ( beloved named them after characters from our fave shows)and I’m totally enthralled by them.  I can see how easy it would be to buy loads and become completely overwhelmed but I’m being sensible and just sticking to these two for now, although I’m sure they’d make wonderful parents..ahem. I’m learning lots (getting my head around the stats isn’t easy for me seeing as I am completely number illiterate but I am persevering) I’m also on the look-out for the perfect bunny accessory, so if you have any suggestions to make please feel free to update the comments section below, and any tips you have are very welcome too.

To sum up then, my bunny loving experience has been an overwhelmingly positive and surprisingly joyous one.  My only criticism? No bunny pooh.  I was expecting little brown pebbles everywhere, and I’m disappointed that hasn’t been the case..perhaps Ozimals are planning that function for a future update? I await with baited-bunneh breath…;P