The rescue I volunteer for was one of those who took in rabbits from the Texas operation. While no one took the time to properly bond any of those rabbits (obviously; the conditions were indeed terrible), many ended up bonding due to the stress most likely, similar to your pair.

Since they have each other for social bonding and affection, it is not unusual that they may be more withdrawn to humans unfortunately. In addition, their environment growing up I’m sure did not facilitate trusting humans or non-rabbit entities.

People are very quick to talk about their socializing rabbits, so don’t let that discourage you! Just like with people’s social media feeds, it does not accurately portray everyone. The majority of rabbits are not cuddlers really, and this comes down to them being prey animals– not because the owner is doing anything necessarily wrong.

I’ve read stories of it taking more than a year, but also remember every rabbit shows affection differently! The fact that there are occasions where they want to be in the same proximity as you shows they have built up some security gains in being around you.

Well it’s not all that surprising that they act scared of you. They came from a horrible situation. However, there are things you can do to make them feel more secure. You said you chase them down, catch them and hold them against their will. Any rabbit would hate that and be terrified. Most rabbits hate being picked up and snuggled. They’re not like a cat or dog, they’re prey animals and hate being lifted off the ground. In nature that usually means they’re about to become someone’s dinner. Same goes for chasing them down, why is that happening? If you want to improve your relationship with them and gain their trust, stop the chasing and stop holding them when you know they don’t want to be held. Once they can trust you to not do those things anymore, you can work on getting them comfortable with you touching them. But that will be a long way off. You’ll have to be very patient.

What have you done so far to try bonding with them? And can you describe their housing set-up a bit more? Can you also describe your home environment a bit more (children, other pets, etc.)?

I agree with Hazel that holding and catching should only be when needed (like for nail trims, vet visits, deep grooming, etc.), not a regular occurrence.

My experience with traumatized bunnies is that they feel secure when they have their own space that you don’t mess with while they are in it (so do cleaning while they are out to play), and then an area to exercise in with lots of hide-outs. If the area is so big that they can avoid you completely, it might take longer for them to warm up as they can just avoid you.

I volunteer at a shelter and the most important element of our socialization program is hand-feeding. So the more you can hand-feed them, the better. When you hand feed veggies, don’t let go, make them eat it from your hand. Could be all of their veggies, pellets, etc., whatever you have time for. At minimum, the first veggies and pellets of the day will help. If they will take food from your hand readily, you might consider clicker training. It is a great way to build trust and bond with bunnies that might not want to be petted necessarily.

The other big thing is to spend time with them on the floor, but ignore them. So if they currently have free-roam of a whole house and avoid you, you might want to restrict them to one room, and spend time with them in that room. Read, watch a movie, play on your phone, etc. Talk softly to them so they get used to your voice. The more time you spend near them but not bothering them, the more they will trust you.

Anytime you need to do something stressful with them (like a nail trim), be sure to follow it up with a really good treat.

It also helps to spend time with them when they are most active (morning and evenings). Most bunnies snooze during the day, so they won’t be very into exploring. I have a foster that would not come out of her pen at all for the first few weeks, and then I started leaving her pen open overnight so she could come out when it was nice and peaceful. We started noticing her favorite time to play and zoom was about 4 am. 🙂 So maybe your buns would like a very peaceful time to explore and zoom around too.

There are some bunnies that do seem to have some sort of PTSD. I think in those cases you will be able to find joy in providing a safe and peaceful home for the bunnies, and can build a relationship with them in other ways (such as clicker training). Focus on helping them feel safe and secure, and hopefully the trust will follow.

My best way to bond with my bun is to lay on the ground and check my social media, this forum, other things on my phone or laptop while laying on the ground with Louie in the morning and night when he’s wanting to explore. I also try to hand feed him at least once a day, it helps him associate me with good things. I wouldn’t push to try and grow a relationship, if the bunny wants to get away, I would let it, you don’t want distrust.

Ah, this is helpful!

You should modify their set up so you do not need to handle them daily. This has likely set you back a lot with your bonding. So, this could mean moving their pen to be in the main room area where you spend the most time, giving them free-roam of a larger area, or spending more time in their area with them.

In terms of getting them back in their pen, easiest way is to just feed them their pellets and/or veggies in their pen, or lure them in with a treat. They will likely run right in. Sometimes they might not want to go in while you are directly watching them, but if you put the food in and then walk away a bit, they will go in. Most bunnies like to go in and out of their pen throughout the day, as they think of it as a safe haven, like a burrow.

So yes, I don’t think they are appreciating being moved around so much! There are buns on instagram that you see going all over the place with their owners, but in my experience most bunnies don’t really like this, especially if they aren’t very strongly bonded with their humans. They are very tied to territory, so unfamiliar is often scary. I’m sure they will be quite happy with one large room to roam in (this comes from someone in a studio apartment, so mine have only got 1 room and they seem happy!).

Since buns are typically most active morning and evening, I would opt to have their pen in the room you spend your mornings and evenings in, so you can interact with them when they are active. You could bunny-proof that room better, and then lock them in their pen at night if needed. 🙂

So I would modify their set-up, and stop picking them up unless absolutely needed (like for nail trims, vet visits, etc.). If they start warming up to you and getting more adventurous with those changes, you might consider training them to run into their carrier, and you could try moving them to a new spot occasionally to see if they like it, but I’m guessing (especially with their history) that they will appreciate stability. <3

           It sounds like we should not put them in any situation at all where we have to chase/grab them. Is this what you all are saying?

Yes that’s basically it. 🙂  Agree with everything Dana said. Feed them inside the pen, and schedule their meal (or one of them) for when you want to put them up at night. Or you can use a special treat if they go for that. All I have to do to get my guy to go into his cage at night is say his name and walk over there, usually he beats me to it and sits in his cage waiting for his treat.

As far as handling goes, you can’t force a rabbit to like something they’re terrified of. You have to work within their comfort zone or you won’t gain their trust. And even when they do trust you, that still doesn’t mean that you’ll be able to handle them easily. That’s just the way they are. 🙂

I’m sure you can repair the relationship, so don’t fret too much!

I really think that if they are roaming on the same level that their pen is, it won’t be that hard to get them to go back in. I bet they will get the picture pretty quickly. Also it is not the worst thing to “shoo” a bun in a direction (a little clap and gentle nudge on the bum), but having to chase a bun down and pick them up is a different story. I will sometimes have to “shoo” a bun towards their pen if they are being extra sassy, but usually it’s much easier to lead them in with a treat in hand.

I’m still not 100% clear on your house layout and which level is which, but I think whichever level is the most “active” with humans would be the best, even if it means slightly less space. How big would the pen end up being? And how many hours per day would they have to spend in it? You could consider building them a cube condo where their pen footprint would be to give them more vertical space when they are penned as well.