lap bunny?

[BEL]

Hey guys!

My bunny isn’t really a cuddly type bunny so far. I have only had her for 2.5 months and she is about 5 months now. I haven’t gotten her spayed yet but she will be in January. I am trying to encourage her to be more cuddly by feeding her veggies only if she sits in my lap and eats them. I have been doing this for 2 weeks now but so far she will only jump up on my lap when I have food. Has anyone else tried something like this? Has it worked for you?

I make sure I don’t pick her up unless I have to since she hates it so I know shes not scared I will pick her up if she gets too close. Also she prefers me to pet her while I am standing up. If I sit on the floor she hops away form me or behind me. Is this normal? Have I done something wrong? (This is my first bunny and I really want to be a good bunny parent)

Thanks for any advice!

[Bam]

It’s a good method. If a bunny learns to associate your lap with good things, said bun will like yor lap. But it can take time before she comes for just cuddles, not just food. And it can take a really long time too, so don’t be impatient.

But it’s important human-rabbit bonding you are doing, so I’d keep it up.

That a bunny is skittish and tries to avoid situations where it can get caught is absolutely normal. It’s a very important survival-mechanism. You haven’t done anything wrong. It takes time to build trust. But because it takes time and patience, it’s really very rewarding when you start to see progress

[McCord]

Keep it up, when the buns older itll figure you out better. Maybe 8 to 10 months. Bucks tend to be more food motivated, does, not as much.

My buck learned to hop in our laps for food and eventually did it just to say hi.

What i do is take their most vunerable or hated position and turn it into a position of rewarding. So hates being picked up and held like a baby upside-down? Then hold it close n snuggly and feed it 2 grapes while upsidedown, then put it on the ground, pet it to show nothing bad happened. Shell prolly thump at you and run off. Do this for a month or two and the bun will start to accept being held.

[DorothyTheMiniSatinBun]

I agree with both yours and McCord’s methods. I have had Dorothy for a little over 3 months, and I have been feeding her treats almost exclusively in my lap for about 1 month. Now she is just jumping in my lap in anticipation for treats (she never did this before), but she will also just hang out by me when I’m sitting down more now. I’m not sure if she is hoping she will get a treat eventually or if she is just used to it now, or both. But my point is, if you keep it up, I think your bun will get the idea and start hanging around you a lot more.

As far as picking her up, some buns are always going to kinda dislike being picked up. But along the same lines, if you keep practicing safely, she will eventually understand this isn’t a threat to her. Dorothy does not like to be picked up, but she will tolerate it especially now that she knows we won’t drop her or that this isn’t leading her to a punishment. Every time I pick her up, I make sure I am taking her to another place she wants to be rather than punishing her, so that she doesn’t associate the picking up with things she doesn’t like. I also give her kisses on the top of the head to calm her down

Normally bunnies like you to be on the same level as them when they are being pet, like lying on the carpet eye level. But what I am thinking is that your bun is still a little skittish with you, maybe she thinks something might fall on her as you’re transitioning from standing to sitting. What you can try is sitting on the floor first and see if you can practice calling her to you, entice her with some greens or a treat, and make a noise that you want to associate with her coming to you. She will get used to it, and it will probably happen faster than you think. Just keep it up.

[BEL]

Thanks for the great advice! I picked her up today and the fed her treats to show her she was a good girl but afterwards she would run from me when I tried to pet her. Is this normal? If I try to pick her up say twice a week till she gets more used to it, would it be too often?

[Bam]

It’s normal that she runs away after she’s eaten the treats. I’d just let her, because that helps her feel safe – if I jump into mummy’s lap, I’m free to go when I want to.

How often to pick a bunny up depends a lot on the bunny. If the bunny totally freaks out, I’d not pick her up more than once a week. But if she doesn’t seem to mind but stays and eats treats, twice a week be ok. It’s good to tery and make them used to being picked up so you can do the once-a-week check (nails, feet, butt etc.)

[BEL]

Thanks so much

[BEL]

Thanks so much

[Adam]

It should be in a sticky (if it isn’t already), since I see this all the time, that some rabbits, and maybe it’s based on breed, will simply not domesticate all that well. They will always see you as a threat or necessary evil. With some rabbits it will be near 24/7 distrust of you, with others it may be that they like you for certain parts of the day (I have one like this) and then other parts of the day they run and hide.

You can help or hurt the situation, sure, but sometimes the dream of having a cuddly bunny is simply crushed by the reality that they are not cats or dogs.

[Author]

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