Forum

OUR FORUM IS UP BUT WE ARE STILL IN THE MIDDLE OF UPDATING AND FIXING THINGS.  SOME THINGS WILL LOOK WEIRD AND/OR NOT BE CORRECT. YOUR PATIENCE IS APPRECIATED.  We are not fully ready to answer questions in a timely manner as we are not officially open, but we will do our best. 

You may have received a 2-factor authentication (2FA) email from us on 4/21/2020. That was from us, but was premature as the login was not working at that time. 

BUNNY 911 – If your rabbit hasn’t eaten or pooped in 12-24 hours, call a vet immediately! Don’t have a vet? Check out VET RESOURCES

The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.

What are we about?  Please read about our Forum Culture and check out the Rules

BUNNY 911 – If your rabbit hasn’t eaten or pooped in 12-24 hours, call a vet immediately!  Don’t have a vet? Check out VET RESOURCES 

The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet.  It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.

BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A As a new rabbit owner I am confused on where to start…

Viewing 5 reply threads
  • Author
    Messages

    • CJG1993
      Participant
      4 posts Send Private Message

        So a few days ago somebody dropped off a Rabbit at my girlfriends pet store….long story short apparently in NYC pet stores aren’t allowed to hold Rabbits and they can be fined…she told me about the bunny so I told her I would take it in(since I love animals and I know I would do my best to take care of it).  

        I brought Bandit home on Wednesday night, got him a spacious cage, food(hay + pellets), a few toys etc.  Have not brought him to the vet yet(going this Wednesday) so I am not sure how old he is(he appears to be young) and I want to hopefully get him neutered.

        I love him so damn much already and want to make sure he’s well trained and guess I don’t know where to start….

        One thing about him is he seems to be VERY curious(I know rabbits are naturally curious), I have a pretty decent sized play space for him to run around in and he explores it constantly(goes up to my bed constantly, tries to sneak into the closet etc) and hes constantly always moving and doesn’t sit still. I want to start learning how to handle/train him and get him familiar with his name but all he wants to do is explore. Is this due to the fact he may be young/its a new environment for him? 

        He’s been alot more social with me (especially today) since I got him… Since he got comfortable leaving his cage and wandering around hes been doing alot of binkys(in the past two days I’ve probably seen him do about 15 of them), he let me pet him briefly(on his head), ate out of my hand, rattles his cage when he wants to roam around.  I got a bit worried because hes nipped me a few times…I am not sure if it was aggressive biting or not though.  I held my hand out earlier and he approached me and nibbled on my fingers 3 or 4 times.  

        I’ve been reading up on behaviors of rabbits but hes doing so many different things at different times that I feel a bit overwhelmed with its body language as well as if I am doing a good job or not.  I am pretty afraid to pick him up/handle him because he starts to kick and squirm and don’t want to upset/frighten him(and like I said he rarely sits still for more then a few seconds)…

        I guess my main questions are:

        Is he extra curious due to his age?(since he seems small for a rabbit especially compared in size to my girlfriends female rabbit who I believe are the same breed)

        Will he eventually calm down(in the sense of always moving)as he gets more comfortable being in my house?

        What commands should I start working on first?…I guess I am pretty confused as to what to prioritize first.

        Is him approaching me and nibbling on my fingers a good sign or a bad sign?

        Whats the best advice for learning to handle him?

        Best tip for a new rabbit owner?

        Thank you guys for reading this mess of a post, sorry if its extremely unstructured…just super nervous/having a bit of anxiety.  Not going to lie though I’ve been so damn happy since getting Bandit(he’s really awesome and seriously makes me crack up with the stuff he does) 


      • Gina.Jenny
        Participant
        2244 posts Send Private Message

          Your rabbit sound like a normal healthy bun, who feels safe in his(or her?) environment. I adopted a rescue who I think is a bit over a year old, and he has spent the past 5 and a half weeks behaving in a similar way to your new bun, always on the go, and into everything.

          The first thing I taught my newest bun was than when I whistle, there is food in his run. This is usually enough to get him in without a big game of chases, which can stress out bun and human alike!


        • Azerane
          Moderator
          4688 posts Send Private Message

            Hey there and welcome

            I’ll just jump straight to your questions. Young rabbits tend to be more active than adult rabbits, more inclined to explore and run and play whereas adult rabbits while they still play and are curious, have much more lounging time than younger bunns tend to do. So I imagine as he grows up and you have him neutered (assuming you do) that he will certainly settle down in that regard and be more comfortable to just sprawl out and lounge around.

            In terms of commands, teaching him a command for going back into his cage can be very useful. The best way to train this is to have his free roam time before you feed a meal of pellets or a treat. Then at a regular time if you can get him to come running for his food and put it in his cage while calling out a word such as “bedtime”, “cage”, or “go home” you can quite quickly train him to go running to his cage whenever you say those words or he hears his dinner being prepared. That being said, sometimes they just don’t want to go to bed and even the most delicious treats can’t convince them it’s worth it to go back to their cage

            “No” is obviously also another important command, however you’ll find that most rabbits really don’t care about this one, rabbits are happy to be told off if they can simply resume where they left off straight away. If he nips or bites you can give a high pitched squeal to let him know that it’s something harmful and while some people aren’t comfortable with it, you can then press his head down gently but firmly (no hard force, no hurting, just pressing the head down) to the ground for a couple of seconds, say “no” and then let go. The reason this is often recommended is because it’s what mother rabbits do to their kittens to teach them. I would only use this with nipping though, I tried it a few times with other misbehaviour but didn’t have any luck. The best thing in my opinion for correcting chewing something bad, or digging where he shouldn’t is either to say “no” loudly, or clap your hands to interrupt the behaviour, and then redirect with another toy or something. If you can’t redirect, they simply pick up where they left off.

            I would say that approaching and nibbling on your fingers is a good sign. The fact that he approaches you means that he’s comfortable doing so, and if it was in an aggressive manner, you would know about it. Rabbits nip and nibble for several reasons, as a way to test things and see what they are, to get your attention, or to tell you to move out of their space or out of their way. Young rabbits seem to do this more than adults but whether it’s a matter of because they haven’t yet learned not to, or because they have more to explore in terms of new experiences I’m not sure. But with a bit of gentle training and getting older he will likely grow out of it.

            Handling a rabbit is a big task sometimes. Your best option for now is simply to bond with him to earn his trust more. He needs to know that he’s not going to be petted or picked up every time he approaches you. Once he is comfortable being petted by you and things you can build his confidence by getting him to climb on you for treats. When you do try to pick him up, you need to be sure to support both under his front and back legs. I liked to hold two fingers in front and behind Bandit’s (my previous rabbit’s) front legs, and then scoop him up from behind his butt with the other hand. When you first try picking him up, do it as close to the ground as possible in case he falls. Many rabbits kick and scratch and wriggle when being picked up and they can be very powerful. It’s best not to let them fall as they are easily injured, but you don’t want to squeeze them too tight either. The general way to train good behaviour in handling is to pick them up and hold them against your body well supported until they stop struggling. Once they stop struggling, they’ve earned the reward of being put down again.

            And best tip is probably both making sure he has access to grass hay 24/7 as it’s the most important thing for their health. The other thing is to keep a keen eye on his toilet habits. A rabbit that stops pooping or eating is a rabbit in distress. 12+ hours without one or the other is considered a medical emergency.

            Welcome to the wonderful world of bunny ownership


          • MiNinoJack
            Participant
            226 posts Send Private Message

              You’re so great for taking him in! I think you’re getting great advice, but I just want to add that there are only a few rabbit savvy vets in NYC. If you don’t know which one to go to yet this is a good list: http://rabbitcare.org/vets.htm


            • Love4Bunny
              Participant
              878 posts Send Private Message

                Azerane did a great job of explaining it. The position of the ears are a also another way to read your rabbit, which you may have read about when looking up body language (you can find diagrams/ charts if you Google it). My boy makes some common vocallisations at certain times, while my girl doesn’t make any. Establishing a consistent routine will aid in training your rabbit to follow you, so you don’t have to pick him up often. I use pellets and papaya treats for luring my rabbits back into their enclosure.


              • Jessica
                Participant
                163 posts Send Private Message

                  For flopsy yes it was hard training her at 8 weeks cause she was so nosey lol but we slowly worked together. First thing she learned was her name. I would say it giving her food, changing her cage, giving her treats until she got the idea oh okay that is my name and would approach me as I said it. Next was teaching her no, she still has times were she’s like I don’t care mommy I do what I want (teen buns) but yes for no I did as az said, never yell but address firmly with a no if it’s something really bad. Last thing she learned was bed, with the help of treats she learned okay when mom gets my treat holder it means bed. Every night I would take like a raisin box or cut a small piece of Apple or rattle her store bought ones. She learned the sound meant treat and she’d get one for hopping to me. I then began to slowly move closer to her cage door over a few nights until she learned that if she got inside she would get the treat all the same. Now when I say flopsy, bed as I rattle her container she’ll hop to her cage and sit until I give her a treat.

              Viewing 5 reply threads
              • You must be logged in to reply to this topic.

              Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A As a new rabbit owner I am confused on where to start…