new boy bun- lots of behavioral questions!

[doodlebut88]

 Hi Binky Bunny!

I just posted a little intro in another section, but briefly: I’m a new bunny owner, having just adopted Reeses Cup from a foster a few days ago.

Reese is supposedly about a year old, and he’s litter trained.

I’ve been spending a lot of time with him so I’m really starting to notice some traits of his that are adorable and also some traits that can become detrimental. 

Reese is not only a digger, he nibbles EVERYTHING. And forget chew toys, because they’re not nearly as interesting as my cardboard boxes and the plastic baby gate I’ve set up between my bedroom and office. I’m not only concerned about the destruction of my own things, but also about his health, consuming odd materials. I’m not sure what the best way to discourage him from doing this is. I’ve tried pushing his little nose away from the baby gate or physically picking him up and moving him away from the object but he goes right back to it. How do I prevent him from not only doing this now but train him not to nibble for the future?

Also, I’ve been working on general interaction with him. As an adopted bunny, I’m unsure of his real disposition. He’s super active and within the first 10 minutes of being in his new home, seemed totally content. He runs for about 20 minutes solid then flops himself down for a few minutes to rest. He’s obsessed with feet, which is adorable, and loves chasing them. But he doesn’t know his name at all and I can’t seem to come up with a way to train him to “come”- tapping my fingers on the ground, kissing, clicking. He also loves being rubbed and will sit for minutes at a time while I rub him. But he can’t stand to be picked up and placed anywhere: on my lap, in my arms. He wiggles so hard that he often propels himself from me and leaves some pretty nasty marks. Is there a way to work up to being able to have him interact with me more? I feel like that would also eliminate him from being so nibbly, if I can occupy more of his attention. 

I think this is all for now. I know this is a longer process and I’ve only had him for a few days. But I want to make sure I’m on the right track to having him behave well. I just want to get him really comfortable with human interaction and I’d like for him to maintain his little mischievous attitude but without ruining too much, including his health.

 

Any help would be really appreciated!

Thanks so much.

 

[Adalaide]

I’m not sure about health concerns, but Freya also eats anything in existance she can find to put in her mouth. The carpet, boxes, the carpet, furniture, the carpet, shoes… you get the idea lol. I was horrified when I saw a website promoting saying no and spraying with water. Instead I said no and clapped, with little result. I can snap pretty loudly, after again having water recommended, I grabbed the closest spray bottle and spray, snap and say no at the same time. Works like a charm, we’ve given up the water although I still keep in in easy reach just in case. Don’t know about health concerns, it can’t be good to eat things like carpet, but so far she seems to be fine even after getting a few pieces.

I’m not sure what I did that taught Freya her name. I just use it over and over when talking to her. I’d sit and just say her name until she’d wander over, then I’d pet her and tell her how wonderful she is and she’d wander back off. She doesn’t really answer to her name yet, and certainlly won’t come when called (I don’t think she ever will, she’s above that) but she knows her name. She’ll look up when I call her, or sometimes if she knows it’s time to go to bed she’ll hear her name and go hide under furniture.

Oh, and Freya hates being picked up. Every way I’ve been told to hold her results in much struggling and catipulting of bunnies off of me. Also leaving nasty marks, but she’s just a babe, I don’t mind. I’ve found that if I hold my hands, palms up on each side of her, then bring them together and kinda scoop her up she’ll just stay. If I bring her close and cuddle her, the minute she’s about 2 feet off the ground she turns into greased lightening. I just keep her about 2-3 inches from my chest and talk to her and I can take her anywhere.

[Elrohwen]

I find the water spray works at times, though with mixed results for my bun. A spray on the back doesn’t phase him, but the one time I hit his ear accidentally he gave me this “What the heck?” look and stopped chewing the baseboard 😉 I think as long as it doesn’t scare your bunny and is just a deterrent, it’s fine to use. I wouldn’t use it if your bun freaks out and runs away after being sprayed. Clapping and saying no also works sometimes, and I try this first before pulling out the bottle. If he’s chewing cardboard, let him chew! That’s great for him and something he’ll really enjoy, so don’t try to discourage it. As for the baby gate, you can try using a little vinegar, perfume, or a commercial no-chew product (ones for bunnies tend to have some kind of citrus oil in them, like lime) but many people don’t have great results with those. As long as he’s not ingesting the plastic, I don’t think it’s too much of a problem.

As for picking up, most buns just don’t like it. It sounds like you already have a great relationship with him if he lets you pet him for long periods and chases your feet around!

To get him to come when called, I would try sitting fairly close to him with a treat in your hand while you tap the ground and say “Reese, come”. If you’re sitting close enough and the treat is tempting enough, he should come right over, even if it only takes him one or two steps to reach you. Just do this over and over again and very slowly move further away and he should eventually get the hang of it. Food is a great motivator!

[babybunsmum]

i recommend rabbit-proofing areas your bun has regular access to.  using plastic cord covers to enclose electrical wires, fencing off any access to anything you do not want chewed and providing chewable toys for distractions.  my buns have always loved toilet paper tubes and newspaper sections to chew and shred.  for example i block off my kitchen table and chairs witgh a NIC grid fence when my bun is out of her room because they are too tempting for bun teeth not to chew!  i have plants that pinky wants to eat so i use the water spray bottle technique when she gets near them but i find having her out and about is much more fun when the majority of stuff is rabbit-proofed.

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