Our 14 week old rabbit is a JERK. HELP!!

[charlierae]

My daughter, 11, wants to do a rabbit in 4H next year. We bought a mini lop bunny 4 weeks ago. He’s awful. Bites HARD, thrashes around, runs from everybody, thumps his feet. I’ve had bunnies in the past and I’ve never had one that was so unfriendly. We have another bunny we got a couple weeks ago from a different breeder, he’s 9 weeks and a total love. Our lionhead, that we’ve had for 2 years is also a sweetie. How do i get our bunny to warm up to us and tame enough to handle. My kiddo is almost afraid of him. 🙁

[LBJ10]

From what you describe, he sounds scared. All bunnies are different. Some warm up to people right away. For others, it can take months… even a year in some cases. Here is an article from HRS that might help: https://rabbit.org/faq-aggression/

Are you planning on neutering him? Some of this aggression may be fueled by hormones.

I think people can offer some tips for helping him, but we will need more information. Are there any patterns to his behavior? Do certain things trigger him? What are you doing when he bites?

[charlierae]

We will be neutering. I haven’t noticed any patterns. This behavior is pretty constant, unless he is in his outdoor hutch. Hes very relaxed out there. He never binkies around, he either lays under the dining room table, in his cage, or in front of the AC vent. I told my daughter to squeal when he bites and firmly tell him no. He bites to hard he actually tore her hoodie.

[Bladesmith]

He’s terrified. Refer to the FAQ section for the best ways to make him friendly. Long story short, you’re doing everything possible to make sure he stays terrified and defensive. Start over.

Sorry so short on information, my arthritis is killing my hands today.

[charlierae]

I went through the FAQ section but didnt see anything that applied to our situation. Should we just back off from him and let him have his space in his outdoor hutch for a while with trips into the house to get used to it? He lived outdoors before we got him.

[Sofia]

Definitely give him some space, but he should be seeing you and smelling you regularly so he can get used to you. You should probably bring him (in some sort of carrier preferably) into the house every once in a while to get used to that too. I guess you just have to find out along the way what he’s comfortable with and start from there. It can be quite hard getting a rabbit’s trust but you have to stick at it. Do not carry him or lift him up, if he runs away do not chase him.

[Bladesmith]

Sit on the floor and don’t approach the rabbit. Bring treats. Wait, how ever long it takes, for him to approach you, (and he will, because rabbits are as curious as cats) and offer treats. Get down to his level, even if it means getting on your hands and knees. Copy his behaviors. Wash your face with your paws. Wiggle your nose. (No, I’m not kidding) Let him be curious and interested by you, and come to associate your hands with good things, not grabby things. You MUST resist the urge to pick him up. Doing so resets you to zero trust in his mind. Rabbits are prey animals, unlike cats and dogs. They don’t naturally gravitate to humans for company, safety or food. Grabbing a rabbit and picking it up makes the bunny think it’s about to be eaten by a predator. Fear can kill a rabbit.

When he finally approaches you for companionship and trusts you, you’ll know. He’ll nudged you, or tug on your clothes, and push his head under your hand asking for pets and head rubs. Again, DON’T pick him up unless you absolutely must. If you must, hold him for no longer than you have to to trim nails or whatever, and reward him with a treat. He’ll quickly learn you don’t mean to harm him and he gets rewarded.

You may notice that there’s a theme here. Most Bunnies are suckers for treats.

You’ll need more time and patience than you thought yourself capable of. You’ll spend more time sitting on the floor than you ever have.

It’s taken over a year to get our Dwarf bun Dawn, to socialize with us even a little bit. But earning the trust and love of a rabbit is well worth ALL the time it takes.

[Wick & Fable]

As mentioned above, there are some good steps to take. It may be difficult, but remind yourself that every rabbit is different. What your other rabbits are like and how they behave is based on a number of factors. It’s clear this rabbit is distinctly different, so different bonding techniques and a different timeline needs to be considered to make sure you, your daughter, and the rabbit are as happy and healthy as possible.

I’m not experienced with outdoor housed rabbits, but there are a lot of different scents in everyone’s living surroundings. Being outside in a new area with new predator scents can be extremely stressful, so whatever you can do to make outside seem more secure would be beneficial. Maybe spend time both inside and outside, with you and your daughter simply supervising and not trying to force interactions. The rabbit needs to get used to the surroundings and realize it’s not dangerous, whether it be attack by animals or humans (not that you’d attack, but that’s how the rabbit sees it).

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.

[charlierae]

I want him to be a house bunny. Our buns only go out to the hutches on occasion when its not too warm/cold out. But he seems most relaxed out there. So we will take it slow. We have a great big pen my daughter can put around his hutch and sit with him in the grass.
My kiddo and i will ease him into love. Out of the 5 other rabbits I’ve owned I’ve never had one like this. Now i feel bad for forcing love on this poor baby. We will back off and act bunny with him. My daughter will get a kick out of that! We have yet to find a treat he likes. So we will keep hunting for his special tasty. Haha. Thank you so much!!

[Q8bunny]

Great input above.

Bonding with a particularly skittish bun is a lot like having to infiltrate a group of stereotypical teenagers: there’s a lot of “just hanging out” involved.

[LBJ10]

Does he like pellets? Sometimes people offer those as “treats” if they are doing a lot of hand-feeding anyway. Otherwise, bunny gets too much sugary stuff.

[charlierae]

He does like his pellets. We will try that.
It is sort of like a teenager!! hahahahaaa

[BunnyLass568]

@charliereae: This may not be very helpful since I’m new to the bunny scene but if you have safe wild clovers you can try a small handful of that as a treat as well if you haven’t already.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Pets-Passed away: Hailey (9 years old, half rat terrier and miniature pincher, Feb-5-2019),Monster (13 years old, mixed breed, Lhasa Apso and some form of terrier, Sep-14-2020), Demon (14 year old Lhasa Apso, Aug-3-2022) Blossom (6 year old bunny breed(s) unknown, April-7-2024) Thumper (6 year old bunny breed(s) unknown, April-12-2024)💔💔💔💔

[Author]

Messages