Bunny Bond

[iburncookies]

Hello, I just joined the site today, and i have a question about my bunny.

I got her from a breeder in October, and the breeder said she was nine weeks old. I will admit that she is my first bunny, but i did alot of research before buying her. She is a lionhead, which i got because my research told me they were mellow. And they looked super cuddly.

But im new to this whole bunny thing. I would interact and pet her alot, but she’s super skittish. I think its a typical case of too much too soon, and now i can tell she doesnt like me too much. She doesnt like being picked up, which i understand, but sometmes you just have to pick them up. I only pick her up when its playtime or cage cleaning time or time to go back in her cage, but everytime i do it just seems like she hates me more and more. But she loves everything else. She’s comfortable outside her cage, shes confortable in her cage, when i let her out she does cute little binkies and masses of little excited bunny blurs [which is absolutely adorable, i must add ], she just isnt very fond of me at all.

How can i save this relationship, or is it a lost cause?

Thank you for your

 

[iburncookies]

Oh and i was also wondering…

Would getting her spayed help this behavior any?

[LoveChaCha]

Don’t give up on your bunny.

You have a baby rabbit. They are skittish and scared, but as they get older, they will calm down and their true personalities will come out. I have a bunny that I raised from the time she was 9 weeks old. She was scared of me too LOL!

Is she in a cage and is that area she plays in outside of the cage? I would not suggest picking her up and taking her out for playtime, but letting her come out on her own accord Rabbits are curious creatures and will likely see what is going on when the cage door opens. When she is out of her cage, it is a good time to clean it She will be busy playing and distracted.

Yes, spaying at 4-6 months WILL help. It helps litter habits, hormones , spraying, and it cuts reproductive cancer by A LOT. Rabbits make more enjoyable pets when they are spayed! Have you found a good vet that sees exotic (rabbits are considered exotic) animals a lot? Rabbits require special care

[jerseygirl]

Welcome!

It can take some time for rabbits to trust and bond. It’s important to keep in mind she is hardwired to act for survival, being a prey animal. How you act toward her is important because of this. She’s just scared. It takes baby steps and alot of it is about us learning how to read them. Just her sitting close by and grooming herself is a good step. It means she feels safe enough to perform normal bunny actions.

As Brittany said, allow her to come out on her own and approach you on her own. You often have success by sitting back and doing something else. Then they’ll come up and say hi.

With one of my rabbits, I put a carrier in front of him instead of picking him up. He’s learnt to hop into it without too much fuss and prefers that then being handled.  I can touch him, he loves to be on the floor and have me pet him then. Cuddling for rabbits. ;o)

I have to say, I’ve not heard of lionheads being termed as mellow before….but then most breed descriptions of this sort are generalizations.  It comes down to their background, how you socialise them from young and their own personalities. 

[Karla]

I would think that lionheads would be one of the more skittish breeds actually. The larger, the mellower.

I have a skittish 2 year old lionhead. The first few months there was no doubt in this mind that my only mission was to catch him and have him for dinner Today, he is still a nervous little one, but he likes to cuddle and climb on me.

First off, I made sure that he knew his cage was his and only his home. I would never reach my hand in to the cage if he was in it, and he was never forced out of the cage. Once he was ready to get out of the cage, I would sit on the floor with pellets and raisins in my hand. I would hand him one, while saying “Come, Karl” (later that command really payed off – it is kind of cool to just say “come, karl” and then see a bunny come running from one room and jump up in the sofa with you) – in the beginning, I would have to reach my arm out quite a bit because he wouldn’t get near me, but eventually he would sit on my lap and get his treats. Yes, it required quite a bit of time to handfeed him his pellets, but it was fun.

What else? I never picked him up, but respected that he was afraid to be picked up, and always let him come to me.

You have no idea how much time my boyfriend and I spent on our stomachs on the floor or with our backs turned to him, just to make him approach us. People with cats and dogs will never understand the effort some of us have to make to get our rabbits to love us

But in the end it paid off He is still a skittish lionhead, but he knows I have no intention of eating him for dinner anymore

[TH004]

OK… this will sound weird, but I swear it works! My first rabbit was rescued and she was abused by 2 different families. Understandably, she was very scared of me. My mom told me to put a dirty sock in her cage (not like super gross, just something you wore for a bit and got your smell on). I think she got used to my scent as being non-threatening. It only took 2-3 weeks and she was being held on her back, carried around the house.

My new rabbit bonded immediately with my husband and not with me. I was quite sad about it. Without me knowing, my husband put my socks in his cage. I noticed a difference the next day. We’re bonded now!

The bunny ignore always helps too, as mentioned above!

[Karla]

TH004, that is a neat idea. It’s funny ’cause most of us use it when it comes to bunny to bunny bonding, but it had never occured to me that of course you can use scent transfer in a human-bunny bonding.

Clever mom And what a sneaky husband you have LOL

[iburncookies]

Brittany:
She has an open top cage, but i plan on buying her one after christmas when i have money, i think that will save all the trouble of picking her up (And getting my arm scratched off)…
But yes. I designed my bedroom to be completly bunny proof (No small spaces she can get hurt in, nothing that will fall on her, no available wires) and i take her out and let her run around my room (I usually set up boxes and low stools she can play on) for most of the day.
But she likes to do her bathroom business on my bed. (But im pretty sure since she’s litterbox trained and she has never peed on anything besides her litterbox before she’s spraying it, because she just recently started doing it.. Not sure though lol)
And Yes i have a whole list, and a good one down the street from my house. But like i said, im stuck till after christmas lol.

And everyone else:
Thank you for the hope! I love my adorable lil fluff I just need to have more patience. THANK YOU!!!!!!

[LoveChaCha]

Bunnies will pee on the bed to mark their territory, or .. BECAUSE she just wants to be naughty An X-pen around the bed can help prevent her from jumping onto your bed.. but you are caging yourself in I believe beds are no-no’s, but if you can stop her from peeing on your bed, great

[iburncookies]

Yeah she’s probably just being a rascal lol.
And yeah i would love to have her on my bed with me, but since she started peeing on it that has been a definite no no. lol. :/

[(dig)x(me)x(now)]

We have a few members on here whose buns just can’t resist peeing on their bed even when their litterbox habits are pristine otherwise. Maybe it has to do with your scent being all over the bed? Either way, I hope things get better and you make a lot of progress with your bun! Keep us updated :]

[iburncookies]

You know… that could be…
Now that i think of it. After about two weeks of having her i put an old uncleaned shirt in her cage to sleep on. And she peed all over it, and i tried it again with a different shirt, and she peed on it again.
And me and my boyfriend share our bed, but she only pees on the inside half of the bed, which is where i sleep….
Interesting. Is it a bad or a good thing that she’s doing this? lol

[LoveChaCha]

Well, the only way to stop it is to prevent her from getting onto your bed. It can turn into a bad habit. I think she is claming her territory, but I am not so sure.

She smells mommy

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