He’s a tiny prey animal. You’re a giant scary human. It takes more than 4 days for a rabbit to learn he can trust you.

Also stop picking him up. Bunnies don’t like being picked up. It terrifies them.

patience is the number 1 key. approach slowly…get down to his level…sit and lie on the floor with him often. picking them up is not necessary but you should know how to do it. so do it once in a while for checks but that’s it. treats are okay when they are little to reinforce good behaviour but maybe instead of treats use pellets as a treat or small bites of greens to avoid store bought treats in the early days.

Posted By Deb on 8/23/2017 6:38 AM

Thanks for the reply

And yeah I know it will take more then 4 days lol I expect it will take a good few months or even years and I had to pick him up in order to give him a health check as he was itching his ears which were ok.

Any advice on bonding with him ?

My main advice is to stop picking him up. He’s just going to become afraid of you. Just leave him be. Sit on the floor with him and just let him approach you when he’s ready. Don’t reach out to pet him. He needs to learn that you’re not a threat.

I’m working on bonding with a pair of bunnies that moved in with me several days ago, so I’m in a similar position to you. The fundamental thing is to let them set the pace of their interactions with you; don’t try to compel them to be affectionate to you. Sit or lie down with them in their X-pen or wherever you’re socializing with them and let them come up to you and investigate you. Let them sniff you and climb over you (it’s a really nice sensation to have buns climbing up and down on you! )

If they exhibit signs of wanting you to pay attention to them – usually they’ll do this by lowering their heads, nudging you or sometimes even nipping you (and by the way, it’s very important to learn the difference between nipping, which is an important component of rabbit language, and actual biting) – offer to pet them gently on their foreheads from the nose up to between the ears, which is just about every rabbit’s favorite place to be touched. They may only allow you to pet them that way for a moment or two before scampering off again, but that’s OK. Remember, let them control the pace of building their trust in you. Talking to them in a soft, gentle voice is a good tactic too; my own Panda is skittish of being petted at this stage in our relationship but very much enjoys being talked to – she nipped me for attention while I was socializing with her son Fernando last evening, and reacted quite positively when I spoke to her for several minutes.

I agree that you need to build up the trust relationship before you can think of beginning to pick your bunny up. They will never like it, because they’re strictly ground-bound creatures, need to have their feet on a solid surface at all times to feel secure, and associate being picked up with their feet dangling with being seized by a predator, but if you do it the right way after you establish your bond with them and only do it when it’s necessary (to put them into their carrier, for example, or to get them out of somewhere they’ve gotten stuck in) they’ll learn to tolerate it. Again, only when necessary. You can give your rabbit a once-over – I’m assuming to check his health, right? – without having to pick him up off the ground.

As far as treats go, how about offering them some hay? I found out almost by accident last night that Fernando delights in being offered hay from my hand, and eats it with relish; Panda isn’t quite as enthusiastic as her son when I offer her hay but takes and eats it readily enough (she prefers bananas! &nbsp. So I think I’m going to do it that way from now on; it’s a good way to reward them for good behavior during socialization sessions without having to feel guilty about giving them not-good-for-them-in-excess stuff.

I know it can be frustrating as all you wanna do is pet them and squeeze their little bums (just me??) but try and resist

Their bums are just so adorable! 

bun bums

Bunnies are giant teases. They look like teddy bears but hate being picked up and some don’t like to be cuddled at all.

If I had 3 wished one would be for my bunny to be a cuddle bunny so I can hold and kiss and cuddle him all I want and he would love it!