My bunny hates me

[Jaime]

I have a 5 yr old neutered Holland lop named Colby. Colby is an amazing rabbit and loves attention. I got Bleu ( Holland Lop)  when he was old enough to come home with me. He was sweet for the first few days and after that he got crazy skittish. He is now neutered and will be 1yr old next month. Him and Colby aren’t fully bonded and they are never left alone. They do like to nuzzle through the cages. Bleu still does not like humans. I tried to give him space, I lay on the floor and let him approach me but he immediately runs away. He hates being touched. If I offer treats he may approach but he will take it and run off so I don’t touch him. Any advice?

[DanaNM]

Hi Jaime,

Welcome

Can you describe your set-up? Is Bleu able to come and go from his cage without you handling him? If you have to pick him up to let him out to exercise, that could be contributing to him being skittish.

Also, are you planning to try to bond them? Sometimes a shy bunny can come out of his shell more if they have an outgoing friend.

Sometimes shy bunnies will start opening up after many months, or even a year or more, so don’t give up! Keep up with hand feeding, floor time, and generally playing hard to get. It’s good that you haven’t been trying to pet him yet. You can try feeding as much of his food by hand to keep building the positive association.

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[Bunny House]

Hi! I just want to say, please don’t bond until you go through prebonding, it helps stabilize the bond.

As for Blue, many buns can take a year to earn their trust with you. Just continue to sit on the ground with him, do something on your phone or read and let him come to you. You can even have some treats and put them around you and let him come to you but don’t move fast to pet him as it can scare him. Let him do it a few times and then you can try and pet him but let him come to you if he wants to be pet. My lop is still very skiddish of me but we are working on it, but she is partially deaf so it doesn’t help haha.

[Author]

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