Am I doing it right?

[Pebbaroo]

Hi, I’m a relatively new bunny owner (I’ve had two of mine for about 4 months and one for just a few weeks) and I had a question about human (me) to bunny bonding. I let my bunnies have free roam of the living room whenever I’m home, and during that time I tend to leave them to it. When they come over to nudge me I’ll give them a little pet, and Rolo will use that as a cue to start licking me to death (he’s always been a licky bunny, that’s why we picked him!). Poof, my other older one will tolerate a few strokes and then run off. Very rarely will she settle down and let me stroke her properly, but when she does she always grinds her teeth.

My newest rabbit Silver was a bit older when we got her. She’s Rolo’s sister and her breeder couldn’t find a home for her so we took her in. Apparently she was very friendly with her owner and very very close to her mother. In the few weeks we’ve had her, she’s definitely not scared of us when she’s running around. She will hop on and over and around us, and always comes running for snacks. However, she will not tolerate being touched. At all. She always runs straight off, even while eating snacks. Is this normal for a new rabbit and is she likely to come around?

Also, is my approach of leaving them to it good or is it actually harmful to our bonding because they won’t get used to getting affection from me? How do you guys bond with your rabbits? Any tips would be really helpful as I want to be the best rabbit owner I can be, and hopefully establish a better bond with them too.

PS: they’ve all recently been neutered if that makes any difference to anything.

[Q8bunny]

It doesn’t sound like you’re doing anything wrong.
Every rabbit is different personality-wise, but that’s not to say that with time your bun won’t tolerate human touch for longer periods.
To be honest I let my Chewie set the tone since day 1. Now, after nearly a year together, there are still days when he’s a loner and days when he’ll forcefully demand constant snuggles. Let your bun tell you what he wants and just go with the flow.

[Bam]

I agree with Q8. I do think the best thing is to let the bunnies set the pace, more or less exactly like you’re doing.
Newly neutered bunnies can be a bit difficult during the first few weeks after the procedure due to fluctuating hormone-levels.

[Pebbaroo]

Thank you both, that’s reassuring! Do you guys have any tips to share around ways to bond with your rabbits? I heard someone mentioning somewhere on the forum to keep some treats to hand to feed them when the rabbits are coming up to you to make them trust you more. I’d be quite interested to read what other users do to play/bond with their buns!

[Bam]

Yes, having a few treats on hand for when a bunny approaches you spontabneously is always a good idea!
My first bunny Bam wouldn’t let me touch him for about a year unless he was deeply engaged in eating sth yummy (and probably didn’t even notice that he was being touched), so I think Silver is being normal. I do think she’ll come around though, my bam did and became positively addicted to being pet on the head and ears and back of the neck. Many rabbits prefer being pet on the head and when you see two buns grooming each other, they tend to concentrate on the head/face.

I think leaving them to it is good, because with a flight-animal (or prey-animal) being touched can be a sort of punishment if it’s unwanted. They have deep instincts telling them to be very wary of possible predators. But at the same time they are innately curious and love to explore. You can lie down flat on the floor and do nothing in order to encourage them to come and check you out. They might f ex see fit to use you as a jungle-gym.

And try to not stare at them. That’s hard, because they look lovely. But a predator always start their hunt by eyeing its potential victims, so prey animals don’t like when you fixate on them with your eyes. With time they will of course conclude that you are a friend and not a threat, but that can take a while. Being very cautious is all in their nature, so it’s not sth they choose to be or sth that you don’t do right.

[Pebbaroo]

Thank you for all the info everyone, it’s been really helpful!

[Author]

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