Extremely skittish rabbit. Lost her bonded buddy.

[I_love_pippen]

This is a bit complicated I guess as I have two questions. We lost our beloved Pippy, I posted about it here: https://binkybunny.com/FORUM/tabid/54/aft/166293/Default.aspx

My questions are going to be: How to make a skittish rabbit comfortable with us? And should we, and how should we, bond it with two brothers that we are fostering?

Pippy passed away and left behind his buddy Scruff. Scruff is extremely skittish. Pip was our little ham, always wanted pets and snacks, he’d run up to anyone who came in the room to check them out. But Scruff only really felt comfortable with her brother, Pip. Even after 3 years with her she is terrified of me and my girlfriend. If we try to pet her she’ll run away. We got Scruff when she was 2 and has always been like that. We don’t know her background before we got her.

Meanwhile, a friend found two domesticated rabbits abandoned in the park and called us. They’re definitely brothers, we got them both fixed and have been fostering them in a separate room of the house. We’ve had them 2 1/2 months. They’re highly energetic, probably 4-6 months old. We’ve been waiting until Easter was over to try and find a forever home for them. They’re great little dudes with great personalities. We named them Lefty and Frank. 

Frank: https://www.instagram.com/p/Bgrz78klF5r/?taken-by=jenniferllinds

Lefty: https://www.instagram.com/p/Be_s6PgFj8T/?taken-by=jenniferllinds

Both: https://www.instagram.com/p/Beb4kH9lUGV/?taken-by=jenniferllinds

Scruff has always been energetic even though her buddy Pip was mostly interested in napping all day. She’s always curious and trying to explore new things, she loves playing with toys, and even runs around a bit. We’re keeping a close eye on her, I can’t really tell if she’s mourning Pip or even knows what happened. We didn’t know to let her spend time with the body. She was with him when he passed but I took her back to her room a few seconds after. I don’t think, I honestly don’t know, if she understood what was going on.

This brings me to my question. It’s going to be just Scruff and us soon. Her skittish behavior was OK before because she hung out with Pip and they were best buds. My gf and I had a great relationship with Pippy. It didn’t cross our minds to change anything, everyone was happy. But I think it’s important now that we find a good relationship with Scruff. We want to pet and comfort her as she copes with not having Pip but she won’t let us even touch her. She just runs away terrified. Does anyone have tips on how to change that and make her comfortable with us? 

And then the 2nd question: We were thinking she might like hanging out with Lefty and Franky while they’re still here. They have a lot of energy and she does too. But they’re bonded brothers and she’s a skittish little outsider. I’ve read up on some strategies to bond them but is it something we should do? They’re going to be gone to a forever home hopefully within a few months. I’m mostly worried about what’s best for Scruff. The boys are fine, happy, and got each other. Should we try to make them a trio for now? Will that help Scruff? Is it too soon? Our beloved Pippy passed just 2 days ago. I’m just really struggling to figure out how best to make sure Scruffy is healthy and happy. 

[Cocoa]

You shouldn’t bond them into a trio unless you are keeping the brothers. Rabbits can become very depressed when a bond is broken

[I_love_pippen]

Thanks Cocoa. That’s what I was worried about. I thought maybe they’d like to all hang out together and maybe it would help Scruff. But I wasn’t sure if it would be traumatic to her when they eventually left.

Do you have any tips to making Scruff more comfortable with us? I’ve read online about skittish rabbits but most are ones that just got brought home. Scruff has been with us 3 years. We were thinking about hanging out with her in a smaller space, like the bathroom. Like just have one of us sit in the bathroom on the floor on our computer and hope Scruff gets comfortable being around us.

Her room is pretty big and if we try to hang out in there she just hides in her tunnel or hut. If we get closer to her she runs away most of the time.

[Harley&Thumper]

I would buy a good camping pad and just sleep on the floor for a few nights. I felt that doing that helped me bond with my rabbits. You could set up an x-pen or two that has enough room for you to lied down in and a litter box.

[Gordo and Janice]

Okay, like I said, not an expert. I am responding both with hopefully something helpful but also to keep this thread in view. Sometimes, I think, there are so many threads so fast that the truly knowledgeable members or the one that will have the most appropriate answer won’t be online to catch it in the active topic section and respond before it’s pushed off into oblivion.

With attempting to bond Scruff with the two fosters. I would say absolutely not if you are not going to keep Lefty Foster and Franky Foster (the Foster brothers…see how I did that). Sometimes a bond can be so strong that when it is broken it is very stressful to the rabbit to the point of death. They are so traumatized they shut down, literally. Of course every rabbit and every bond is different. And bonding isn’t always easy peasy. It can be stressful for the rabbits as well as the owners and sometimes, I understand, it never takes. But ultimately even if it is easy, if the brothers are going to go away, it would just be another degree of trauma for Scruff. So something to avoid for sure.

I think getting an x-pen is the best course of action. Not sure about the size and layout of your bathroom but with the x-pen you will always be in her sight, you can set it up in her most familiar room, and most importantly, over time, you can slowly shrink the enclosure so that you are closer and closer together in the confined space. It seems time spent in nonthreatening close proximity is the most significant factor so what Harley&Thumper suggested about sleeping on the floor sounds like a great idea as well. Depending on how she acts around you (I think you said she is very curious and active), offering treats out of your hand while you are spending time in the “enclosure”, of course in responsible amounts, is something else that can help with the process over time.

I just quickly searched on YouTube and found these 4 videos. Maybe they’ll help. Obviously you could do you own searching, just trying to help. They seem to confirm mostly what I’ve said above. Hopefully someone here with first hand knowledge of exactly your situation will respond with beneficial recommendations.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H15VYG2RRzk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3rlWno7B8g

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kF3HQ1n5_tk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1E2ZEJO81bM

Still in my thoughts. Wish you guys better and great days ahead!

[Deleted User]

To add to what everyone else has said, if those fosters are only 4-6 months and haven’t been fixed, they too need to be separated at all times. They aren’t bonded at that age or before being neutered, so they could get into a nasty scuffle if hormones make an appearance. Which wouldn’t be good if they were falsely advertised as a bonded pair and then started fighting. so keep that in mind.

[Gordo and Janice]

I think they said they had them fixed.

[Deleted User]

Oh, I see that now. I need new glasses xD

[I_love_pippen]

Really glad to know about not introducing the fosters. We got them both fixed about a month ago. They’re brothers and get along well. They did used to hump each other all the damn time before we got them fixed. We called the SPCA and they said it would be best if we could foster and find a home for them ourselves so that’s what we’re doing. We’ve just been holding onto them until after Easter to avoid anyone wanted a bun just for Easter. We’re going to start looking for a home for them soon but we have no idea how long it’ll take to find the right home for them. We are firm that they will go together and to someone who knows about buns and will give them a great life. If we can’t find that we’ll keep them forever. When I said they’ll probably be gone in a few months it’s just my estimate, I’ve never tried to re-home a bun before. (We’re in New Orleans if anyone knows anybody or has any tips).

I appreciate all the info on helping Scruff. Our family dynamic seemed really great while we had Pippy and so I always just figured Scruffy was just skittish, there was nothing to be done. I regret not understanding that we could do something. I’m extremely relieved that we can bond with her now that we only have each other.

I bought some real comfy looking foam camping pads off Amazon. I’ll check out those videos and do some more research. We brought her into the kitchen last night (where she can’t hide in her huts and tunnels), laid a rug out for her, put some water and some pellets on it, and then laid down next to it and watched an hour long netflix show. She seemed very comfortable just hanging out 4′ from us, she was playing with her food bowl as she likes to play and throw things, and then just laid down and kept an eye on us. We ignored her and let her do her thing and she just seemed comfy, watching us. But she never came up to us.

I’m new to this but I’m very optimistic all this info will work out and we’ll form a much better relationship with Scruff. I’d love to be able to go into her room and lay on the ground and give her some pets one day.

I’ll keep everyone posted. Thanks for the help!!! This forum has been a huge support while my gf and I are struggling through the loss of Pippy.

[Gordo and Janice]

Glad to hear. You sound extremely capable and it makes me happy to know everyone is in good hands. All the best!

[Author]

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