Bonding with abused bunnies?

[Mandee]

First, I just want to say thank you to everyone who has helped me in the past. We gave up our youngest male bunny to a home that could give him more attention and had no other rabbits, and we situated their living area so no more accidents occurred.

 We’re going to be fostering two female bunnies for two weeks. The story behind them is kind of long, so I’ll try to shorten it. They were found outside in an alley locked in a dog crate with a frozen water bottle, and a friend’s mom took them in. Turns out they went from one bad place to another, because now they’re locked in the same crate with no bedding, food, or water. The crate is covered in feces and pee, and so are both of the rabbits. We think in their previous home they were abused on top of being neglected, and they are EXTREMELY distrustful of humans. 

The mother who has them now had me hold one while “washing” their cage, and the bunny struggled and then bit me in the nose. I now have a lovely scar. I couldn’t put her down because of the three dogs and two cats that the mother keeps in the house at all times…those bunnies are just terrified. We’re picking them up today, and for the first couple days I’m going to put their cage in the bunny room and leave it open so they can go in and out as they please.

But after they get a little more relaxed and get their energy out (they’ve probably been locked in that crate their entire lives…about eight months old…I want to bond with them to get them used to humans. Should I sit in their room and just not do anything or touch them? Let them come to me?

How about treats? Would it be safe to feed them treats? And they are extremely filthy, covered in feces and stained brown, are there any tips on bathing them? I’ve had to bathe rabbits before, but I feel like these two will be a lot harder. I know not to get ears and tails and bottoms wet. And eyes. 

Please, just ANY tips or advice you have for working with neglected/abused rabbits.

[MoveDiagonally]

Mandee – I’m glad you are rescuing these bunnies. They seem to have been in a really bad place and a safe understanding home is exactly what they need.

I’m going to move this to behavior because I think you’ll get more responses over there. The bonding section is more about bonding rabbits to other rabbits.

[Megabunny]

I’m no behavior expert, but I always figure on letting newcomers stay in their cage quietly for the first day or two, unless they want attention, because there’s so much for them to get used to. I think it helps them know that is their safe spot and potty area, though if they aren’t neutered, they won’t litter train too well anyway. And you don’t want to chase them willy nilly through the room if you can avoid it. That won’t help your cause to make friends. Probably a little treat every time you show up in the beginning would help too. I’m sure others will have more/better ideas.

[Zombie-Sue]

It’s unlikely that she they were actually abused. People are tempted to jump to abuse to explain behavioral problems, but it’s rarely that simple. Animal abuse isn’t that common–neglect, maybe.

You already learned the hard way that you shouldn’t handle her bare-handed, heavy garden gloves are usually recommended for when you need to handle her, but otherwise it’s best to let her come to you. It’s unfortunate you can’t hide your nose LOL

What do you mean by treats, exactly? Usually little pieces of fruit are recommended treats, they really go nuts for bananas. But go really easy on those because they might already have tummy troubles anyways. For the bath, I’d just barely put a little water in the bottom of the sink and wash them with it. Never submerge, honestly the less water the better. They will try to jump out so you want to do it one at a time–it might be best to have someone help you. Hopefully you can reduce bites that way!

Definitely bother them as little as possible ideally for a whole week, and let them come to you if they want to. Getting them spayed would be ideal too.

[Dwarf Sparrow]

Maybe they weren’t abused, but poor handling can still cause rabbits to mistrust humans and act skittish; I think my Liam was poorly handled in his previous home, but after 2 weeks with us he’s settled down and no longer twitches away when I pet him.

When you do let them out, I would start with just sitting in their rabbit-proofed area and letting them do their thing. Even if they don’t come out of the crate for a while, I think it’s good to just watch rabbits so you can get a baseline for how they “normally” act, and so you can compare to any improvements/changes later on. If they’re particularly skittish, I wouldn’t even try to pet them at first if/when they approach you.

As far as treats, some rabbits seem to think plain old timothy pellets are worthy of treat-status; I know my two buns act like I’m putting down a bowl of treats for them in the evening haha. Offering/holding out a few pellets in your hand might be a good way to make friends without overloading them with sugar

[MoveDiagonally]

Animal neglect is the most common type of animal cruelty and is illegal in most places. Direct physical abuse is far less common but neglect and mishandling is still abusive and can cause a lot of behavioral/health issues. You don’t have to hit an animal to abuse it.

One of the best ways to bond with a bunny is to hang out and ignore them. Grab a book or laptop and just do your own thing. This will help get them comfortable with your presence and make them more curious about you. You can offer them treats if they approach you but I wouldn’t try to hand feed them. Just set them down. Don’t try to pet them if they approach you as this could startle them or set things back. The goal is for them to learn that you’re not out to grab them or hurt them. As things get better and better you can start giving them some head rubs and try hand feeding treats. Ect.. That’s my advice.

[Mandee]

Thank you to everyone who replied! I used all of your advice, and the rabbits are doing considerably better now. I had no intention of handling them in the beginning, but after watching one of the rabbits try to mount the other, I had to pull the rabbit off (before any mounting was done). When I pulled the rabbit off, I saw that she was actually a he. I guess the previous owners didn’t bother double checking, and now I’m afraid the female rabbit (who I double checked was female) might be pregnant. We already have homes for both of the siblings, and if the female has babies, we’ve secured homes for them too. Thankfully a lot of people here are bunny lovers, and would gladly give a forever home to any bunny in need.

On another note, I managed to clip both of their enormous claws without getting too scratched up, and then rewarded them with a couple bunny treat apple chips. I also bathed them, and they were both pretty well behaved for it. They’re doing a lot better now, and I think they’re enjoying their freedom and the grooming they’re getting.

Thank you again for everything!

[Zombie-Sue]

Did you separate them?

[Author]

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