Helping new bunny to adjust

[Hank]

I just adopted a rescued rabbit (Hank) and I was hoping for some help so we can start our relationship off on the right foot.I adopted him from a shelter where a family had given him up because they had been evicted and I’ve had him for about a week.  They told me he is a little shy, but is easy to handle and loves to be petted and held.

I have cage and playpen set up so he can go back and forth between them as he pleases.  At one point I would like him to be a free range bunny when I’m home, but I want him to adjust slowly to his new environment.

Although he has come out of his shell a little, he is still very skittish and often retreats into his hiding place most of the time. I’m very patient and want to give him all the time he needs to adjust, especially since I don’t know how he was treated at his previous home.   Most of the week he just hid, but then, this weekend he started with some very forward and aggressive behavior. He is really trying to get out of the play pen and banging everything around loudly all night and  while I’m at work. While he wasd doing this, I went over and tried to push him away, but he just nosed me and kept it up.  Unfortunately, the neighbors aren’t going to tolerate this noise. He also digs wildly in his litterbox throwing litter and excrement everywhere. If I don’t clean it up immediately, he tries to eat everything.  I tried clapping my hands loudly and squirting him with water, but they are only temporary solutions and don’t discourage him from doing it again.  I also don’t want him to be frightened of  me or I’m afraid he’ll never feel comfortable enough to come out of his shell completely.

 I tried spraying the outside part of his pen where he was wildly banging with a little perfume and then he just hid in his cage and wouldn’t come out.  But that was the only thing I could think of to stop the banging at 4 AM. 

Is he doing this to get my attention and to tell me he wants to get out?  The living space I am giving him is about 4 times the size of what he had in the shelter and it’s full of comfy places to lay and lots of toys and things to chew on.  He also seems to demonstrate this behavior when he is out of dry food.  But I can’t give him more because he has already had his ration for the day. (I split his ration up into 2 and feed him morning and night)

When I left for work this morning I closed off the play pen and just left him in his regular cage. I felt guilty for not giving him access to the extra space, but I need to try to calm him from this noisy behavior. I realize I’ve only had him a week, so I was expecting some issues, but I just want to start things off on the right foot and would love some advice. 

 

Any suggestions?

 

 

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[poopy]

First off, what a cute bun!

This is completely normal. Mine used to do this all the time. Bunnies bang on their pens in the morning because they want you to give them their breakfast and they want out. They are most active in the early morning. Before you consider letting him free roam your apt., 1) make sure the entire free roam area is bunny proofed from cords, wobbly furniture, etc. since they can jump quite high onto anything. 2) is he neutered? If he’s not neutered he could have quite scary toilet habits. If not, get him neutered ASAP. That may calm down some of his behavior too. I wouldn’t let him free roam unless he was neutered. If he is, I would totally let him free roam provided the house was proofed!

Regarding the litterbox, see this thread on trying a covered box.

Lastly, when I really couldn’t wake up to shut mine up, I turned on some jazz music and that completely shut him up. Immediately he layed down and I could see his ears swiveling in pleasure.

I don’t have this rabbit anymore, now I just have one, Medusa. She free roams in my roam, she still makes some slight noise in the morning just from running about, which can be heard in the stories below me. So if you are on an upper floor that may still create a bit of noise.

[Hank]

Thank you!  Yes, that face of him makes it difficult to hold a grudge But if he keeps up the noise, we could be homeless! 

I did let him roam free one day, but he got really nervous and so I thought maybe it was too soon. I have rabbit-proofed as much as possible, although the baseboards, doors, door frames and windowsills and are all old wood, as well as most of my furniture, so I know it’s going to be very tempting for him to chew.  Hopefully the perfume will work!

He is 2 years old and neutered and to be honest his litter box habits have been so good up until the last few days.  Thanks for your advice! 

 

 

 

[Gravehearted]

welcome to BinkyBunny, Hank! What a handsome bunny, I love his cute face.

Poopy gave you some great advice.
It takes bunnies a while to adjust to a new environment and new people. Since you don’t really know the details about his previous home, it’s hard to know how his background might have shaped his personality.

As far as the rattling goes, he may be seeking attention, or bored, wanting to be fed or hoping to come out. You might try to adjust his cage or the clips to see if you can lessen the noise. It sounds like he has toys to keep him amused, but it’s not helping. You might give him fresh hay before bed and maybe even shift his second serving of pellets closer to bedtime. Another idea is to build him an NIC condo (https://binkybunny.com/Default.aspx?tabid=71) since there’s less give for him to rattle.

Bunnies are often skittish when they’ve come from a shelter, since they’re often not handled enough. Hand feeding him veggies is a great way to bond, also try laying on the floor ignoring him. Most bunnies are so curious that they can’t resist coming over to check you out.

[Hank]

Thank you very much.  I appreciate the quick response and the helpful tips.  I’ll try these suggestions.  Have a great week!

 

[skunklionshow]

I’ve found that alot of people suggest that less is more during transition time.  Keeping a bun in their cage, while they get used to their new home is very helpful and seems to let them get used to their environment.

When any of our bunnies (therapy and Jess) came into our homes or classrooms.  We let them stay in their cage and just left the door open for them to come out when they were ready.  A few seldom came out for several weeks.  I was seriously freaked about this, but I’ve learned that you need to use "bunny time" as your guide.  I only allowed free roam when I was around to supervise marking, chewing, appropriate kitty interactions.

Good Luck w/ your new baby!

[BinkyBunny]

Welcome Hank! Rabbits are extremely habit orientated. Because they are prey animals, they are not always comfortable with change, even if it’s for the best. So he may be acting out because of anxiety.

Keeping the noise down for your neighbors:

I know this anxiety ridden bunny behavior does not help with downstairs neighbors and such. We had the same problem at our old place. So we bought interconnecting rubber tile mats.  I don’t know anything about that store in the link, but it shows the kind I’m talking about. I have found these tiles in sports stores, auto parts stores, toy stores, and target. THEN, we went to a carpet store and bought a small remnant (much cheaper). This really cut down on the noise for the downstairs neighbor and they said they were getting a good nights sleep. 

Helping him calm down:

1. Some bunnies seem to like to listen to a softly played radio.  I either put relaxing music or talk radio on.  Both Rucy and Jack will sit by the radio when I play those.  Bailey, well, she could care less.  So you just have to watch and see if that will help too.

2.  Offer some chew toys.  Take a little treat, wrap a bunch of hay around it and stick in a cardboard tube (toilet paper roll without the paper).  Some bunnies like to tear up phone books.  Don’t use magazine as the dyes are not good for your bunny.  But phonebooks are okay!   A paper lunch bag filled with hay and a tiny piece of carrot (we don’t want to overload with treats, just distract and redirect).  Little cardboard boxes can also offer the same chewing fun, but just be sure to poke a bunch of holes in it so he can smell what’s inside.

3. When you spend time with him, just hang out calmly and let him approach you.  When he does, offer a something yummy, but since again, you dont’ want to overload his system with treats as that can cause a serious health problem, try and see if he’ll eat healthy treats like mint and rosemary.  And offer greens like parsley.    Hanging out without reaching out or picking him up is really a great way for a new bunny to trust and feel safe.  Rabbits actually will ignore each other when they do not want to fight, and when they are trying to gain trust. It "appears" they are ignoring, but they do watch each other, they just are letting the other know that at this time they are not a threat.  Most of the time they will just groom themselves as if to say, see, I’m washing my face, I don’t care to fight.  Then when they feel it’s safe, they will begin to approach and see what happens.

So a bring a book, or magazine, or whatever and just sit near him, and let him approach you. 

It’s hard for animals, especially prey species, to be moved around, and so once he realizes this is his forever home, and you’re not a vet, or tech that may need to poke at him, and move him around, and that your hands are the same hands everyday that he can trust (unlike at shelters with new scents, new hands poking around his cage) then he will come around in time.

Keep up us updated on what works and what still needs working on.

And kudos to you for adoptiong a bunny!!  He’s adorable!

[Hank]

Thank you for the long letter full of helpful advice. I have actually done some of those things already! I read the House Rabbit Handbook and had been doing a ton of research before I adopted.

I did purchase mats for the floor, but since the playpen I purchased is metal, it stil makes noise. Hopefully he will stop in time.
The cage they had him in at the shelter was pretty small, so maybe he’s just running and jumping and making all of this noise, simply because he can

He is very skittish and if I drop something or accidentally kick the furniture, he’ll run into his hiding place and stay for a while. He has let me pet him a little though and seems to really like it. Sometimes when I stop he noses my hand as if to say “more!” He hasn’t shown any aggression towards my hands at all. Usually if he doesn’t want me around he just runs and hides.

I’ve had him just over a week and I think he is getting used to the routine now. I haven’t been giving him too many treats, but he likes it when I hand feed him his greens at night. I’ve been doing this since I got him. He’s actually a pretty picky eater.

I’m really glad I stumbled upon this Web site because everyone has been so helpful and free with information! I’ll definitely check back and let you know how he’s doing! Have a great day!

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

That picture is classic. I LOVE the look on his face!! “Whaaat??”

[Lucy]

welcome hank!

I don’t know what type of cage you have for him,.I used to just have a cage for Fujoe- because that’s what his past owners used, and at that time I didn’t know any better. It was pretty small and he used to rattle that thing like CRAZY!!! What I did next was attach an x-pen around the cage so he would still be confined, but was locked in at night.. best part was that he wouldn’t rattle his cage.

 

Eventually I went to a condo pen for him (and my other bunny) and there is no noise making.

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[Lucy]

The other thing you can do is zip tie the litter box to the side of the pen. That’s what I had to do since there was some hay getting behind the litter box that Fujoe was determined to get at.

[Hank]

Fujoe
Thanks for your reply. Actually the set up in the picture is exactly what I have! I have a cage surrounded by a playpen. It’s not the cage he rattles, it’s the play pen. Since it’s metal, it makes a lot of noise. I’ve tried all kinds of reinforcements, padding, etc. The perfume diverts him somewhat, but not all the time.

He has been doing it less and when he does it he get’s a squirt of water and a firm no. So everyone’s suggestions have really helped. I’m just hoping as he realizes this is his permanent home, he’ll calm down in time.

Thanks again!

[Gravehearted]

how’s things going Hank? any changes with his adjustment?

[Spacehopper]

Never a truer tale is told!!!  They make it impossible to be mad with them for any longer than a millisecond.  Your bun has that look of, "YES? What?   I am well aware of my gorgeousness..Do you really have to take ANOTHER picture?!"

[Hank]

Hey Gravehearted. Thanks for checking up on us. Thanks for the sweet message Spacehopper!

Things are going really well! Hank has such great litterbox habits that I was able to take out the 2nd litterbox to make more room for playing. He thanked me by doing a big bunny flop right where the other box used to sit.

He still runs around like crazy which causes some of his poop and other things to fly everywhere. But I think he’s just playing and I don’t want to discourage that. So pretty much every day I have to clean up his play pen and the room it sits in, which is a bit of a chore, but it’s only been a few weeks and I think he’ll settle down at some point. I purchased a littler box that a snap on grill which is helping to keep most of it in the litterbox even when he goes crazy. He also hasn’t been hiding out as much from me and staying out in the open, which is nice!

I’ve tried to pick him up a few times which is just traumatizing for him. Even if I just attempt it, he doesn’t speak to me for days, so I’ve decided to let it go until he feels more comfortable with me. However, this makes cleaning his cage difficult. So, I’ve been cleaning his area while he’s in it. At first he was afraid of the dust buster, but now he doesn’t seem to mind it and even chases it around his cage. I know it’s not the perfect situation, but the only other alternative was to put him in a carrier everytime I clean which seems to upset him way more than a few minutes of the vacuum. Again, thanks for checking on us!

[BinkyBunny]

When you say he runs around like crazy which causes his poop and stuff to fly everywhere, do you mean he’s knocking things over in his pen, or that he poops on the run?

I also think your wise to let him feel more comfortable with you first before picking him up. He’ll then forgive you faster.

Most rabbits do not like being picked up though many learn to tolerate, and some just seem to survive it. My bunny Jack HATES being picked up, it is also traumatizing for him, (and for me, he’s a big bunny) but it’s important that he learn to settle down when being picked up so I can clip his nails. He still is "traumatized" but he no longer fights if I can do his monthly maintenance within a timely manner. He still doesn’t like me after, but I am forgiven after a 20 minutes, or if I have a treat to bribe him with afterward the stink eye disappears immediately.

So good for you in giving him time to trust you first.

I have a suggestion for your cleaning time. Put a treat in the carrier and see if he’ll go in there all by himself.

If he ends up not minding the vacuum, then don’t worry about it. Some bunnies will become more territorial and poop more because of the vacuum entering their space while they’re in there. So if you see that happening, then just try the treat in the carrier trick.

Kudos to you for doing so well so far.

 

[Hank]

Hey Binky:
He actually has excellent litterbox habits and hasn’t done any territorial pooping at all. When he runs around like crazy he just knocks everything and so sometimes a few scatter out of the litterbox. But getting the litterbox with the grill seems to really help. In the future I might get a covered cat litterbox, but it’s too big to put in the playpen for now and he’s not ready for free-roaming yet. I’ve tried it a few times and he just gets too jittery and it takes him a whole day to calm down, so I’d rather he get more comfortable with me before really trying this. He really doesn’t seem to mind it when I clean his area, he doesn’t hold a grudge. But I usually do something special after I’m finished with the vacuum like give him a full body rub for a few minutes, hand feed him some greens or give him a treat.
Thank you!

[Author]

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