Human/Bunny bonding question

[Treori]

 So I have had Freya for a week an a half. I know I can’t expect her to instantly love all over me, she need to build trust, but she seems to have bonded very well with my son (just to be clear, the rabbit is NOT his, he knows that too, he is simply too young for that kind of responsability)

I was just wanting some tips on how to get Freya to accept me.
If I have food in my hands, or can potentially have food THEN she is happy to be anywhere near me. If my kid comes into the room and sits beside her she doesn’t even flick an ear at him, but if I come into the same area as her (not close either) then she gets up and hops into her cage.

 

I give her plenty of freedom, I don’t grab her unless she gets herself stuck like she has done once or twice or when she needs groomed. Will the fact that she has bonded with my son affect her bonding with me at all? (she really does adore him, he is 6 and she follows him around all the time, trying to get his attention)

I do try to get on with stuff and ignore her to get her used to me, she isn’t scared of me, she doesn’t run away she just calmy hops away into her cage (which is covered to make a large ‘den’ for her)

I am tempted to start carrying around rabbit pellets and fresh basil leaves in my pockets all the time to try and tempt her ot get to know me XD So as much advice and tips/tricks I can get would be great.

Also on a side note. I know rabbits her age are supposed to get unlimited pellets, but if I did that, she wouldn’t stop eating. She is a pellet monster! Is there an ‘upper limit’ or unlimited pellets she should have in a day? Right now she is getting about 3-4 handfuls a day plus loads of hay (she never finish her hay off, i always have to chuck away the old stuff and replace it with new the next morning)

[NewBunnyOwner123]

Just give her some time I have two buns and one (harley) is really a mommas boy. He follows me everywhere and enjoys lots of pets and then there is Sally. She isn’t the one to want too many pets unless she asks for them. She still will follow me but she just isn’t the one for pets and I have learned to accept it and respect and enjoy her company as she lays by my feet or something.

The other day I decided to start teaching my rabbits tricks. And let me just say, Sally, the more reserved bun, has SO MUCH FUN performing tricks for her treats! She really enjoys the interaction and praise she receives from doing tricks much more than me trying to pet her. It has really brought her out of her shell and I can tell it’s building a bond stronger than ever between her and I and we have only been doing this for 2 days. She allows me to pet her when I have given her a treat after doing her trick and she seems to really enjoy the attention.

Get down on the floor with your bun, maybe you standing up is quite intimidating because you are much bigger than your son Sit on the floor and interact with her and give her some treats. Even try teaching her a trick or two. She will grow to love you when she figures out that you are the tasty treat keeper! :p

[bpash89]

Well pets will always love you more when there is a reward in the form of food for interacting with you but I think if you give her more time she will come around with or without the treats. >_<

Every bunny is different and some need more time than others. Try to spend more time with her just laying on the floor so you are on her level and let her explore you on her terms. Just bring a book or watch a movie on your laptop or something and pretty soon she will most likely be jumping all over you. But really, it’s only been a week and a half, give her time. She is still adjusting to her new environment as well as the new people in her life, it’s a lot to take in and she needs time. it’s great that she’s bonded so easily and quickly with your son but if you give her a chance to get comfortable I’m sure she will bond just as strongly with you too. It’s really all about making her comfortable and letting her set the pace of interactions.

Best of luck.

[Treori]

Thanks guys
I do try to stay on my knees, but I think I might be moving a bit less gracefully then usually when I do that… i.e. I’m lumbering round like a great big jerk. I tried moving a lot slower about half an hour ago, so I could pick up some stuff behind her to put it away and she didn’t jump up and slope off that time. I was also laying on the floor with my son (Freya was on the other side of me then him) looking at the drawings he is doing, and she came up and sniffed my face. Just as I thought, aww, she didn’t freak out or walk away, she turned her back and kicked up her heels at me. Quite a big rabbit insult if what I’ve read about rabbit behaviour and language is true XD

So just basically, keep doing what I’ve been doing, but be patient. It’s hard though when I see her actively playing with my 6 year old and all I can think is I wanna piece of the action too (today they were playing with a box. She would grab it and pull it towards them, and he would push it back, they kept this up for quite some time too haha)

[MoveDiagonally]

In regards to unlimited pellets. It’s okay for a baby bun to run out for a bit during the day. I give my baby bunnies pellets in the morning and in the evening. They run out in between and eat hay and they’ve been growing like little (now big) weeds.

[LittlePuffyTail]

Stay at her level. Try to take a couple of hours every day and sit on the floor and watch a movie or read. Bunnies are curious and she will come to you to see what you are up to. When she does, don’t pat her, just ignore her until she is comfortable around you. You can have some small treats or pellets to offer. When she is more comfortable with you, you can try patting her briefly. Always approach from the side and not from above, as this is what a predator would do.

A week and a half is very early in your relationship. Some bunnies take a good while to get comfortable with their surroundings and humans.

Most bunnies enjoy human company. Some enjoy cuddles, some don’t. Most bunnies will make you work towards that relationship.

[Treori]

Thank you MoveDiagonally. I actually gave her more pellets that I usually do and she left some in the bowl! I nearly passed out from the shock
Cow parsley has been growing like mad in my area recently, so she has been stuffing her face with that (and daiseys, dandilions, she is just having her first taste of lavender now and she loves it! The only thing she turns her nose up at is carrot and broccoli)

Yesterday she had a bit of a shock, my friend and her son came round unexpectedly for a cup of tea. Was pretty annoyed to be honest. Her son is rather loud and hikes my boy up too, and she owns two dogs, so you can imagine how poor Freya felt when while I was making a cup of tea this massive strange human stuck her hands into her cage and picked her up (fuming about this! I wish Freya had bitten her, might teach her to not grab other peoples pets) not only has she been grabbed out her cage which I never do, she has been picked up fully, again something I never do, if I HAVE to lift her for grooming, checking nails, bottom, ears etc I keep her low down, I sit on the floor with her instead to keep her safer and more secure. Not only that, she would be stinking of two dogs too.

She was very upset, I could feel her trembling when I took her off my friend and put her back in her cage. She was even hiding from my son once they left. After the kid when to bed though I sat down with a book and this is what shocked me the most. She spent most of the evening sitting on the floor cushion beside mine and on my one. She licked my feet a few times and she chinned my book (the first time she has chin marked anything). I was even allowed to pet her!

Basically, she has been rather affectionate with me which is a big turnaround. Today she has been back to normal with my son, I’ve been busy though so I haven’t had the chance to sit down with her properly.

(sorry for the late reply, I couldn’t work out how to log in here)

[MegaPixel]

The first week with us, I would lay on the floor and put some pellet on me so she would eat on me and I could pet her and she seemed comfortable with it.
Now she always come see me when I sit on the floor and she jumps on my laps to see if I have food but even if I don’t she is easier to pet now.

oh and when I want to pet her I approach from the side because apparently they have some blind spot in front of them, and I try to move slowly and not force anything… good luck with your new friend

[Treori]

Haha, She is almost ‘back to normal’ again. Yesterday she was acting like she was actually terrified of me. I have no idea what I did to scare her so badly, maybe I made a noise that startled her, or there was a noise outside that startled her and she blamed me for it. But she was actually running whenever me or my son came into the room let alone near her. I asked the kid to back off her for a bit to let her settle, but hours later she was still running away so I grabbed my book and a handful of pellets. Took me a good 5 minutes to convince her to come close enough to my hand to smell the food I had. I gave her some in little bits on the floor in front of her and kept a small amount back then sat there for the best part of an hour with my hand open and the food on it. Took her a while but she forgave me for whatever I did XD But only after she peed on my seat haha.

Thanks MegaPixel, I never approach from above, nor directly from the front either because that could be taken as an aggressive move on my behalf. She left me stroke her today again, she still doesn’t enjoy it as much as she enjoys my sons pets. He touches her and she flops over onto her side, puts her head down and closes her eyes. I keep trying to get a picture but the kid or rabbit move before I get the chance

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