Advice for new rescue bunny!

[AmberJox]

Hi everyone!

I am involved in a rescue from a park of mixed wild and abandoned dumped rabbits. Rufus, The one that we are fostering/adopting (will attach pic) looks like a meat rabbit and is in relatively good condition. He was castrated straight away and is 2.5kg! Lots of others from the park are fast much more wild than him, we have released them into the ‘semi-wild’ of someones fenced in back garden. Long story but the park is not a good place for any of them, semi wild or not.

He is bigger and slower and therefore we would like to socialise him and keep him as a house rabbit (with outdoor playtime). For the first 2 days he was completely frozen and we had to syringe feed him CC and water to keep him going. Since then he has started eating well and even litter training is going well. He jumps up and down on the bed but still freezes every time we come in the room and wont eat in front of us. He is living on his own in a big room which I dont know if it’s the right thing or not but we didnt want to risk putting him near ours yet until full health check and vaccinations done.  We have had him 10 days now so was just wondering if there is any advice for taming rabbits that have never been with humans? And if it would be possible to bond him with our 3 very domestic spoilt bunnies!?

 

Thanks for reading

[AmberJox]

Keeps saying sorry, you are unable to upload pictures to this post? Shame as wanted to see if anyone could shed any light on the breed.

[LBJ10]

We can probably help you with that. Are you using the “Add Media” button?

Depending on your current house bunny’s personality, they may actually help him come out of his shell a bit. Once he has been given the all clear and you start introducing him to your current bunny (I assume you are hoping to bond them), he may start to trust you more if he sees the reactions of this other rabbit that isn’t afraid of you.

In the meantime, I would suggest going back to the basics. Sit with him in the room, but ignore him. Eventually he will see that you aren’t so scary. He may become curious and even approach you. Resist the temptation to reach for him. Once he is comfortable with you sitting nearby, you can try hand feeding him. This helps him associate you with good things. Since he is semi-feral, this may take some time. So definitely think in terms of baby steps.

[AmberJox]

Yes using the ´add media´ button and tried on laptop but saying unable to attach files to this post.

[DanaNM]

LBJ10 gave great tips! I also think he might benefit from having a smaller area that is just his at first. Having a full room to roam in is great, but he may not feel like he has a safe space to retreat to when you enter the room, and he may feel like it’s all his territory that he has to defend.

The main thing is just time and patience! Spend lots of time with him, but ignore him completely. Play “hard to get”. As prey animals, rabbits can feel like they are being stalked if you watch them too intently.

Hand feeding is also really good too. You might be able to start with hand feeding through a fence so he feels safer approaching you.

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

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