One of My Rabbits Seem to be Scared of me and whats the best way to get them out of cage?

[Jackie237]

Hello everyone,

I have a total of three rabbits, but one (Daisy) seems to be very scared of people. My friend had a rabbit that was pregnant when she got her and had to move, so I took the mom in and the baby. I already spayed them both after. Daisy is almost 2 years old now and still very nervous around people. I never try to grab her or anything. The other two rabbits are fine with me.

When Daisy is out of her cage, she isn’t afraid to climb on me or eat food from my hand. However, when she’s in her cage she runs away when anyone is near. When i do need to get her out for exercise, nail clippings, or hair brushing, it’s a very difficult task to get her out.

For the longest time I had to leave the cage door open and wait for her to come out. The other two just walks out , but she sits in her cage for an hour or sometimes two to walk out. Giving her treats doesn’t really encourage her either. Is there anyway I can get her out more easily? or help with her nervousness around me and my family?

 

Thanks

[bullrider76543]

Hmm it might just be her personality to be a little more cautious. I would spend some more time on the floor with her working on your bond. she may grow out of it and she may just be one of those buns that don’t like to be touched.

[Beka27]

What kind of cage is she in? What works with some timid rabbits is having the cage inside of a larger xpen. It works as sort of an “intermediate” cage… still a “safe place”, but allows more room for her if she’s not comfortable running around.

[Jackie237]

She’s in a C&C cage

[RabbitPam]

My bunny Sammykins is the same way, really, and lately won’t set foot out of her xpen onto the flooring. She also won’t let me pick her up and carry her. It is probably her personality, and you may need to accept her preferences and accommodate her.

One suggestion she may work with is to get very low to pick her up, cradle her into the crook of your elbow supporting her with your arms firmly, and move her out of the cage while keeping her quite low. She may feel safe hiding her face in your arm. Sammy seems to hate heights and never climbs or jumps, so I think it was being up high when I carried her that scared her a lot. I draped a thin kitchen towel over her, including her head (they are porous and if not wrapped tightly will just cover like blinders on a horse) and that made it much easier for her to not see to be lifted and carried.

[Elrohwen]

I recommend clicker training for bunnies like this. Check out clickerbunny.com or the book sold on BB.

Clicker training teaches nervous bunnies that they control their interaction with you. Instead of being nervous of your approach, they learn that your presence is an opportunity to earn treats. I know you’ve tried food already, but trust me that luring a bunny out of hiding with food is totally different than letting the bunny proactively do something to get the treat. One of mine is nervous of slippery flooring and if I try to lure him, he just gets more and more anxious. If I work with him using the clicker, he gets excited to step on the floor in order to make me click and get a treat. It’s also made him far more interactive with me than he ever was before since I’m no longer just a scary person who tries to pet him or do things to him all the time. Now I’m a person he can manipulate into giving him treats and he’s very good at it. Haha

Just take things slowly and let her figure it out at her own pace. She should be excited to see you coming with a clicker and treats and sessions should end before she gets nervous again.

[Jackie237]

Thank you for helping me and the bun out

[Jackie237]

Good idea with clicker training! I will try it out

[Author]

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