Bunny dislikes me

[Kittenmegs]

I think my bunny dislikes me. I got her about a week ago. She’s three months old. She had been living with her brother previously since birth with another family but they gave her up because she was fighting with her brother too much. I understand the transition is frightening for a young bunny but she is super freaked around me, such as constantly hiding under my bed and her nose twitching and crowding into a corner. She also will use her head to push my hand away whenever I attempt to pet her (I stay on her level so I don’t look like a giant). As well, she will also nip me if she is pushing my hand away and I didn’t notice or something. One isolated incident that happened as well was during her outside time (I let her out of her cage for an hour in the morning, and at night before I go to bed). I was letting her bounce around as normal, and I was lying on my stomach on my phone not seeking her or anything, not blocking anything either and she bit my ankle for no reason on my part. The cage I bought her has a little shelf for the food, and under it is a place to go, and she always goes under there and never comes out, and it feels like she’s hiding from me. It’s becoming so frusterating because I’m trying so hard but it just seems like she hates me.

[Sirius&Luna]

A week is very new still, she just needs time to settle in. Stop trying to pet her if she doesn’t like it, keep lying on the floor and let her come to you, then give her a treat. Rabbits nip to communicate, so she might have been telling you to move your ankle out of her way when she nipped it.

Some rabbits take months to come out of their shell, you just have to be patient and calm with them until they learn you’re not a threat. Please don’t get frustrated with her, this is totally normal behaviour.

[sarahthegemini]

She does not hate you. She is scared. She is a tiny bunny and she has been taken from her previous home, bought to a new environment with a scary large human. It is going to take more than a week for her to feel safe. Also, stop petting her if she doesn’t like it. That’s not going to help her trust you. You need to be patient. A week is nothing in the grand scheme of things.

[Bladesmith]

Yep, she’s scared, in a new place, and unsure of her new situation. She feels like you’re crowding her. Our dwarf bunny was HIGHLY defensive moving from a caged bunny to a house bunny, and it’s taken us a year to get her to the point of willingly socializing with us. Good thing is, buns are very curious, and the more you ignore her and let her come to you at her speed, the better your relationship will become.
Also, treats help.

[Luna]

To start building up trust between you and her, first try to spend as much time as you can just sitting or laying near her cage (like you were doing when you were on your phone). She will start showing signs that she is getting more comfortable when she explores the room while you are there, or is alert to your presence but doesn’t run or hide, or hops up to you. Once she either starts showing she is comfortable or asks for petting, then you can work on her trusting physical contact.

When she is asking you to pet her she may do things like nudging you with her nose (a nip might follow if her nudges are ignored), sitting very close to you in a relaxed state and not hopping away when you start to pet her, or using her head to nudge your hand. When she uses her head to nudge you for petting, it will be kind of like a nudge towards you and slightly up and she will keep her head in your direction. In contrast, when she uses her head to push your hand away because she doesn’t want to be pet, her head motion won’t follow through towards you and she might turn away. Sorry, it’s hard to explain the difference between the two; when she does the “I want to be pet” head nudge, you’ll know.

[Aysha Faith]

If it helps at all, my bunny boy Hazel took three months before he would even let me TOUCH him. It was the best lesson of patience I’ve ever received. Now all he wants are pets, and who do I think I am if I’m not petting him every second of every day.

[Gizmo]

Let her come to you! I wouldn’t even try to pet her until she’s ready. One thing I read is to lay on the floor with a treat in your hand. Even if you have to lay there for an hour, she should come get it eventually.
YouTube has a nice video ‘relaxing music for rabbits’
Be as gentle, slow, and silent as you possibly can around her.
She is going to love you!!

[Author]

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