Lucy the Bunny hates meetings!!!

[Sarah Evans]

Lucy is our first house bun and things are going great. She has never been a house bun, but has immaculate litter habits, has become “Free Range” (at her insistance), and a major part of the family.  I have attended two House Rabbit Society meetings and taken Lucy with us….

She HATES the HRS meetings.  She cowers in her crate, turns her back on other buns trying to be socialable, and then when we get home she leaves poopies in the the doorways to make sure if any of those “awful” buns followed her home they know who’s boss.  She is also very emotionally needy when we get home, almost like she wants to make sure we know she loves us the best. 

 

I would like to make sure Lucy is a well adjusted, healthy bun.  Should I keep taking her to the meetings?  I know buns are nothing like dogs, but we take the dog to the dog park to make sure he is well adjusted and socialized.  Is this a priority in buns?  I don’t want to traumatize her and make her hate all other rabbits forever…..

[osprey]

Welcome to BinkyBunny, sarah_bellum!

In my experience, rabbits are creatures of habit, and really dislike change.  Some bunnies adjust more quickly than others.  I would say that unless you are trying to bond your bunny and need to take her to a neutral space to meet another rabbit, save her the stress and leave her home when you go out.  I have seen a lot of bunnies in our rescue, and some of them get really freaked out at our adoption shows.  They just can’t handle the commotion and the transport very well.

[JK]

Frankly I would not take Lucy to meetings.  She obviously does not like leaving her home as shown by her behavior.  They really are not like dogs!

[Sarah Evans]

Thanks! I will leave my little “hermit” at home! Its nice to know some other buns aren’t social butterflies either….

[Beka27]

most buns can be very very social, but not in strange environments and not in casual relationships. if you’re concerned that she might want some companionship, the best thing would be to adopt a friend for her to have as a permanent mate. if she’s relatively new, you may want to work on your bond with her before doing this tho.

[Sarah Evans]

Your probably right, she is still developing a bond with us….I was going to wait and let her get established before I even consider another bun in the house. I was just worried because all the other buns at the HRS meeting were social, but then the owners probably don’t bring the shy bunnies. She is just so sweet, and had such a bad beginning, I want her to be as happy and fulfilled as she can. I have never had an animal, who seems almost–grateful to be around us. She just enjoys being in our presence and we enjoy her company just as much…

[Jyka]

Hi and welcome to the forum!
Lovely to here about your house bun Lucy.
It is tempting to take them with you when you leave the house, but I don’t think they really appreciate it. I just invite people over to meet my Freddy.
What are the HRS meetings like?

[Liza]

Awwwwwwww!

House Rabbit Society = HRS

They are AWESOME! They have helped us out so very much, I am eternally grateful!

See, and our Velvety, the killer bunny from the shelter, the one who used to attack anything and anybody coming too close to her cage, the exact same bunny, my Velvet… when I took her to HRS to be adopted (yup, she was adopted out and returned after only three days), everybody loved her and she would flop over to her side, totally charm everyone… haha! She loves outings but she doesn’t like car rides. When I took her there the second time (to meet Dancer), once again, she was just so comfortable (as long as I was with her in the pen), absolutely adorable! The same bunny who used to attack me the second I would touch her x-pen!

They are all different. Your girl obviously is very housebound, quite the little housewife you have there, haha! Just put an apron on her and leave her at home with the household… haha!

[Sarah Evans]

The HRS meetings are fun, if your bunny enjoys that kind of thing…they play and socialize and it is really cute to watch all of them hop up and say “hi” and steal each others hay etc…I will keep going but I will go alone…

[Beka27]

hmmm… i don’t think there’s anything like that around here. sounds interesting.

[skunklionshow]

That sounds pretty cool…but I’m guessing that some bunnies aren’t “meeting bunnies”.  Jessi & her previous cage mate, Oreo, had a major battle one day and were never able to caged together.  I had to find Oreo an alternative placement, which broke my heart.  If you’ve never seen a rabbit attack it’s pretty viscious.  Jessi had numerous stitches and weeks of cage rest from the attack.  In our therapy program, our 2 male rabbits used to go after each other like cats & dogs.  So I’m just thinking w/ all the difficulties that some bunnies have w/ bonding, I would think that the meetings could become little death matches.  That’s why I’m thinking that not all bunnies are welcome or appropriate for the meetings. 

Welcome to Binky Land!  If you haven’t yet, do check out the Binky shop.  I think the willow products are the BEST I’ve every found.  I have the tent & tunnel.  I’m looking at the little cubby house, but I really have no where to put it in their condo.  Also the 6 blend hay gets mutliple ears up!

[MooBunnay]

Hello Sarah – Welcome to BinkyBunny! Those HRS meetings sounds fun. Its great that the bunnies are able to get along so well. If my bonded pair even SEES one of our other buns in the house, they start fighting! It sounds like your bunny just really loves your house and your company – it sounds like she’s incredibly well adjusted if she likes her home so much that she even marks it with some territorial poops when you get home

[BinkyBunny]

I really enjoyed going to HRS classes and events (though it’s been a while – I need to check their event section more often) Some classes and events like t-touch, clickertraining, I had the option to bring my own rabbits or work on a shelter bun. I found that my own bunnies just got stressed out.     

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