Why doesn’t my rabbit approach me on her own?

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This topic has 1sd reply, 2 voices, and was last updated 6 years, 6 months ago by OnyxMoon.

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- 05/19/2018 at 7:47 AM
  Pippa Middleton
  Participant
  1 posts
  I’ve had a wonderful God-given rabbit for four months. We’ve been able to bond and she really is exactly what I was praying for in a tiny companion! She is a free range rabbit (I have bunny-proofed my apartment!) but during the day she’s is sectioned off to just the living room. My question is this: almost every time I approach her, she tries to get away! I try to approach her only when I’m sitting on the floor or otherwise at her level. Once I “get her( she is perfectly happy to sit on the couch with me, snuggle in my bed, etc. She had even been known to sit on my lap when we are driving short distances! She purrs and clicks her teeth, she licks my nose, she has never, ever nipped. So I guess my question is: if she by now knows that she loves to cuddle with her mumma and loves to get pet and scratched, why does she habitually try to get away? One last thing: I have dog pillows on the floor – if I lay down on them she will come to me. I’m wondering if it is something to do with the height of being picked up, the height of the couch, the height of the bed? Once I have her, she is fine! She even came to my second grade class and delighted in letting each student hold her!!! So why this initial “gotta get away!!!!” mentality!?
- 05/19/2018 at 12:02 PM
  OnyxMoon
  Participant
  260 posts
  Hey there! Rabbits naturally, instinctively, don’t like being picked up. When they were in the wild, being picked up meant they were about to be killed and eaten.
  
  Many people think their bunny enjoys being picked up/held when in fact they are terrified. Its hard to tell the difference because bunnies are excellent at hiding fear and pain especially. But from what it sounds like, she does enjoy being held.
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