kokakeeandkahlua has a mostly-blind and deaf bun named Chuck so she will likely be able to give you the best advice.  Chuck mostly just sat around until he got a bunny-friend and now he’s much more comfy and outgoing.

I’ll let her know about this thread.

How old is your friends bunny? Has a vet seen him to confirm hearing or vision loss? There could be something else going on that’s affecting these senses. The swaying…. maybe an ear infection? There also could be some fear in the new place… Hard to know. As Wendy mentioned though, Chucks activity and confidence increased dramatically when his friend came to live with him. :o)

Hi,

It might be a good idea for her to build him a bunny condo or cage that can be “his” so that he can learn it well and be more comfortable hopping around on it. It should definitely be a carpeted and well padded cage, since you don’t want him running into things, and probably also just one story, but fairly large. I have a blind bunny named Grace that also startles very easily. We let her have her own cage in a quieter area of the house, so that she can be more comfortable. To me, the kitchen wouldn’t be a great place for a hearing or vision impaired bunny since cooking and loud noises scare even normal bunnies.

I’m here Chuck is mostly or completely blind and cannot hear at all. I got him knowing about the sight but not about the deafness and had to adjust my plans for him. Your right the swaying is a sign of blindness (the reason is that your balance actually relies on a part of the brain that integrates visual info and info from ear structures-when either are not working, balance is certainly affected).

The first thing I did was set up sort of a base. Try to keep things as predictable as possible. Keep food and water in one spot, feed at the same times, keep routines-this makes it a little less scary.
-I got him stuffed toys-he took to this large stuffed lion toy I got him the most-he has others but that is his favorite. He lays on it, feeds and grooms it. Not sure if he thinks its real but he gets mad when I take it away to clean-I know I need to wash and dry it quickly, and while doing so he generally sits in a corner and pouts. The stuffed lion is a comfort toy for sure.

I found him a friend and that really changed things for him. I was not looking for another rabbit, it just happened and luckily they got along immediately(that’s partly his personality, he’s very submissive and won’t fight anybunny) -I don’t know that I’d suggest finding a friend for him or not. I think bonding would be stressful and I would not have put Chuck through bonding-it either had to work immediately or I wasn’t going to do it. It worked well for him, but that doesn’t mean it would work for you bunny.

I would not worry too much, just start trying things and be very mindful of what he likes and doesn’t like-and work from there. You can always bounce ideas off us here! Also I’d suggest joining the disabled rabbits group on yahoo-there is a bunch of people who care for rabbits with all kinds of illnesses and disabilities on there and they are a great resource.

I find it’s a struggle to find a balance between providing an engaging environment to avoid boredom and not stressing them out. But if your mindful of your bunny’s body language you can certainly work things out well!
*Hugs*

K&K,
When you first brought Chuck home he was very sedentary. I remember you asking if there were any kinds of toys he would respond to. You got a lot of suggestions, and you expanded his space to include a diggy box full of paper. He perked up. You had included photos of his space before and after as well.

I’m thinking that if you could find your thread, you could post the link here for Kendar to read and see the pix. Definitely out of the kitchen and onto carpet will help, but the whole set up worked so well for Chuck after a few adjustments that I think it will be interesting for Kendar to see Chuck’s progress. This was before Noot bonded with him, and he had shown instant improvement alone.

https://www.binkybunny.com/FORUM/tabid/54/a…fault.aspx

Wait, I found it. Easier to search for than I thought.

I think an xpen on a large rug would be a good idea for her bunny. He will learn what the dimensions of the xpen are and he should begin to feel more comfortable within that space knowing it is HIS and it is safe.