Shelter rabbits may come from abusive and/or neglectful situations because of this they may be scared, aggressive, or just like a spoiled house rabbit. It’s odd, but rabbits do cope with things very differently. My first rabbit was abandoned in a hutch in winter and then rescued by someone whose child hurt him, he sat at the shelter for a year and was labeled as very scared and not good with children. He was honestly the most sweetest rabbit I have owned, he would groom me, loved to be cuddled, and never bit. There are also rabbits who take longer to heal, my third rabbit was never handled or taken out of her cage, not to mention she was in the car when her sister broke her back. Because of all this she was terrified when we adopted her, she would thump whenever we moved and wouldn’t let us pet her. Now she binkies every day, grooms us, and spends most of her day flopped on the couch. Not to mention that by having a best friend right away, your rabbit will be learning from your bunny, how to be a bunny and it will heal much quicker. Seeing a rabbit change so much is one of the most rewarding things in the world, seeing their first binky in your home, maybe even their first one ever is beautiful. To know that you have had such a positive effect on one rabbit is the best feeling in the world.

It really depends on the individual rabbit.

I adopted Tait at 8 weeks old and he’s about to turn 2. While I love him to death, he is never one to cuddle and he’s fairly skittish. He also loves ripping carpet up in the corners. So I bond with him by clicker training and just dealing with the fact he only lets me pet his head. Nate I adopted when he was about 3, and have had him just over a year. I have no idea of his history, but it was obvious he never got out of cage time. He hasn’t had any bad habits post neuter and he is the loviest bunny of all time. Nothing seems to bother him and he loves being smooshed.

I totally agree with Snowytoshi, about rabbits learning from each other. For the 6 months I had Nate before bonding him with Tait, he was very slowly learning that he could actually JUMP onto his carrier (it’s crazy to think now that I could block him out of somewhere, just by putting his carrier there), climbing stairs, and he had no idea he could jump onto the couch. Within a month of him living with Tait, he was doing zoomies, full binkies, jumping on and off things 3 feet tall. It was great to see him finally become a real rabbit.

And of course my bunny Toshi, taught his bondmate that if you sit on the fresh cleaned clothes and look extra cute all we’ll do is coo at them.

Both of mine are adopted and were at least 2yrs when I got them. They were bonded prior to adoption. All the pets I’ve personally had were all adopted from shelters too. As far as any bad experiences they may have had, you’ll get to see a little when you interact with the them prior to adopting. Also talk to the people there to see if they can give you any insight into the bun’s personality. Make a few trips to see the one you’re interested in so you can see the personally across multiple days. Everywhere I’ve been, they were able to tell me prior to adopting what I should expect. Some places will even match you to adoptees based on your (and your bun’s) personality.

Other than that, once you adopt, you adopt and accept the pet for who they are and even the worse offenders will warm up a little with time and patience.

One of my buns thumps at me all the time. She’ll fight (claw and bite) when I attempt to pick her up and pee and poo in protest; it’s been a couple years and it still happens. The other one I’ve been told by many probably spent his whole life in a shelter and doesn’t know how to be a bun. Personally I think he’s doing just fine though.

Shelter bunnies are SUPER sweet. I work at a rabbit rescue, and while some of the buns are more timid, they warm up to you and are super loving.

Ella K. Your reply is very nice, but I just want to remind you to watch the dates on posts to avoid replying to posts that are old. If it’s older than 3-4 weeks, we ask that no new replies are made, as often circumstances have changed by then. Thanks.