First of all, I would like to say thank you so very much for everyone’s advice on here. As I’ve said before I’m a very new bun mum and have only had Buckley just over two weeks. I was complaining yesterday that he wouldn’t come out his cage, I spent the entire weekend sitting on the kitchen floor just trying to encourage him out on both Saturday AND Sunday, but didn’t stop to think that the this was during the day, somewhere between 11am and I gave up with frustration by about 5pm, ie his sleepy nap time!
So, with a little more patients (on my part) for the last couple of nights, I have got home from work and opened up Buckley’s cage, put the mat on the slippery kitchen floor and left him to it. I have spent the first hour or so just sitting there quietly and letting him run around, he has gone completely nuts and has been jumping this way and that, he looks so very excited, it’s a joy to watch. He has come up to me a couple of times and nudged me with his nose and/or had a sniff (is this good?) and then hopping off. I have not tried to touch him at these times as it’s his play time. After an hour or so when my bum is completely numb (and cold) I’ve been then leaving him alone. So he has been in the kitchen unattended (I’m still working on the assumption he won’t leave the rug, otherwise I’m really in trouble as he’ll escape to anywhere in the house!). I am checking on him at every tv commercial break, well spying on him actually as I didn’t want to interrupt his fun.
Just after midnight last night I thought it was time to send him to bed, (mainly because I wanted to go to bed!) he really didn’t want to go, but I had a cunning plan, I stroked him! I touched him and it sent him running back to his cage without a backwards glance – he really is a big girls’ blouse! But when I closed up his cage, for the first time he nudged the door with his nose as if he wanted to come out again, he’s never done that before, I didn’t think he even knew what the door was!, but when he realised he couldn’t get out, he started playing with his toys, he was picking everything up and throwing it, it looked a really fun game, but I was soo pleased as he’s never done this before, it was as if he was happy! I do so hope he’s happy, I want to be a good bun mum.
There are still plenty of other issues we have but I think we have more of an understanding of each other and I’m hoping with time he will allow me to stroke him as I would dearly love to snuggle with him and be his friend but I think that will take longer, but I would really like to thank you lot of very kind, knowledgable people out there who help us novices out. I’m pretty sure you haven’t heard the last of me, but i’ll try to be more patient in future.
Now, it’s gone midnight (I’m in the UK) and I need to go chase that bun into bed!
Thanks for everything x