Our youngest bun Luna, doesn’t like coming out of her room but we know the cause………Nutmeg the alpha picks on her. I think as long as you give her the option of leaving the hutch ie door open, then your bun is just doing what makes him feel safe. Maybe there is too much activity happening when he is out of the hutch? Try spending time on the floor with your bun when it’s quiet. Let him explore and crawl on you and reward him with a little treat. Some buns are just a bit more shy.

Chrystie

You can hand feed your bun and see if she comes to you so she can sniff you and get to know you better.

It sounds like she doesn’t feel safe at all when she’s out of her hutch. What have you done to make your house rabbit friendly? Any places she can hide out other than her hutch?

Panda, mother of Fernando, likes her hidey boxes too, especially one on the condo upper deck. I know why as well, she’s still slowly recovering from bad experiences when she was young that made her frightened of humans at the time she was rescued. So I’ve been working with her by giving her not only frequent attention (mostly verbal, as she’s still kind of skittish about being petted except when she’s just been given a treat) as many places to scoot into as possible; right now there are up to five hidey boxes available at any time for the two buns. Her confidence is building a little bit more every day.

Posted By HollandFlop on 10/05/2017 8:15 AM
Thanks for the great advice! When she is out of the hutch, I have hidey holes and tunnels for her to go in, but she seems unsure…. would putting treats in there entice her? She really likes mint leaves!

Treats could certainly help! What I would do first is tho put a pen up around her hutch. Let her get used to that. Then gradually expand. Rabbits – especially shy timid ones can be quite easily overwhelmed. I know my boy bun Peanut is that way. Hopefully if you increase her space slowly, making sure she feels safe before expanding she’ll feel a lot more at ease.

You’re welcome. Hopefully it helps! Also, try ignoring her a little. My boy bun (again) is more likely to explore when he thinks he isn’t being watched lol

Posted By sarahthegemini on 10/06/2017 9:21 AM

You’re welcome. Hopefully it helps! Also, try ignoring her a little. My boy bun (again) is more likely to explore when he thinks he isn’t being watched lol

Concur – buns love attention, but they don’t necessarily love being hovered over all the time (any more than people do). My own two get along perfectly fine when I’m at home, when I’m doing my own stuff and talk to them and offer them treats and pets reasonably frequently but otherwise leave them to their own devices, which they seem to be pretty good about finding ways to amuse themselves.