Tips for Grooming a New Shy Bunny?

[snowballsmomma]

Hi all,

I’ve had my foster bun for about two weeks now but I haven’t groomed her yet.  I know I need to do it soon.

The problems I am having is that I’m not exactly sure how I should do it.  She’s scared of the brush I have tried using, and runs away as soon as I try to put it anywhere near her.  I know that some people mentioned to maybe move her to a higher location, but I’m also not sure how to do that.  For example, first of all, I haven’t picked her up yet and the last time I tried (to put her in her carrier), she was too fast and I wasn’t able to catch her.  She’s faster than my other foster bun so she always gets away!  Also, I am a bit scared that even if I could catch her, that she will jump from my hands or from the high location.  Has any rabbit tried to run away while grooming on a table or something else of that sort?  I don’t want her to get injured.  I was debating maybe lifting up her litter box and carrying her to a table, but not sure if she will be enticed to jump that way either.

I did see some suggestions about solely petting your bunny and picking off loose fur as well, but unfortunately I haven’t pet her at all yet.   She’s gotten better over the last week, but she doesn’t like being touched and once again, runs away.  She’s also not food motivated at all, so it doesn’t matter if I put a huge banana in front of her – she will ignore the food for hours if it’s in a location that she doesn’t want to be in.

Any help would be appreciated! 🙂  Thanks!

[Meg]

That’s a tough one!  First of all, others may disagree, but I personally don’t think it’s such a priority to groom her, especially if she’s so skittish.  I rarely groom, and just do the petting/picking thing you mentioned.

It seems like the biggest thing is just building trust right now.  I would not suggest picking her up in her litterbox — she’s likely to try to jump, and you want her litterbox to be her safe haven.

So, how to build trust with a very shy new bun?  My two cents would be to slowly get her comfortable with you by just spending some time in her space using bunny body language for “I’m not a threat.”  So don’t come right toward her or make eye contact, and don’t get too close.  Come as close as you can without her starting to look nervous, and sit down, facing sort of toward her but not directly at her.  You could pretend to “groom” yourself — for me, I just run my fingers through my hair for a bit — which is bunny language for “no big deal, I’m just relaxing.”  Then leave.  Next time, try to get a little closer.  This might take time.  You could also try giving yourself a “body double,” a plush rabbit or other plush animal that has some of your scent on it, like if you keep it in your bed for a couple days before putting it in your bunny’s area.  This could also help your foster bunny to get used to you.

Once she’s comfortable with you being around, you could try stroking her on the forehead or back with your finger a couple times, then go back to your “grooming yourself” body language and take off.  Again, you can slowly build to a little more.  My bunny Teddy has always been pretty shy, and he only sometimes likes being petted.  (After more than 11 years, I’m still not great at guessing when that is. XD )  But we’ve been able to pet him a lot more by building trust: asking permission, and always stopping when or before he “asks.”  Here’s how: Most of the time, right before petting him I’ll say “Can I pet you a little?” using the same tone of voice, and then I’ll hold my hand above him tentatively, and see how he responds.  If he flinches or starts to shift, I’ll back off.  If he doesn’t, I’ll pet him, but again, back off as soon as he starts to move (or before that).  Now he doesn’t tend to run away, because he knows he doesn’t need to.

Good luck and thank you for giving this bun a foster home!

[DanaNM]

@Meg gave some really great tips for building trust.  Will she let you pet her? I often have success by starting with lots of petting on the ground, when they are in a relaxed mood (so usually after meal time). Then you can kind of sneak in with the brush will petting with the other hand. Hand plucking loose fur often works as well or better than a brush.

In the meantime though, if she’s shedding heavily you do need to groom her. I suggest picking her up and putting her on a table with a towel on it. If you use one hand to cover her eyes and the other to groom she won’t jump off. I think it’s better to just do a deep grooming once a week or so with shy or new buns, rather than constantly pestering them with the brush.

Here is a vid I made of me demonstrating the “foot ball hold” on a bun that doesn’t like to be picked up (this is at a rescue). I find it really secure for carrying squirrely buns. https://drive.google.com/file/d/12iIW-I7CAJIK7Zah6jN0470eQkOlaqr3/view?usp=sharing

. . . 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.  

[snowballsmomma]

Hi both,

Thanks for the thoughtful replies!  My foster bun (Lenn) actually got adopted though, so I gave her up a few days ago!  That being said, I already took in 2 new (bonded) foster buns and I think it’s probably likely I’ll encounter a similar skittish bun in the future, so your replies are still helpful 🙂  I agree that it’s definitely difficult to determine the right mix between letting the bun relax and not scaring them too much, vs. also making sure they get groomed and don’t ingest too much hair.  Thankfully, Lenn wasn’t molting while I had her so I had more leeway not to brush.

Meg – Thanks for the really interesting ideas!  I definitely was trying to be patient with Lenn and would just sit in/near the pen and “ignore her” so that she could get comfortable, but I never heard of the ideas to kind of “groom” yourself or give a stuffed toy with your scent on it.  That’s really cool!  Also, you sound like a really amazing bunny mom 🙂  I love how you do it with Teddy by “asking permission” to pet him.  I think sometimes I will pet my buns but need to remember that if they move away or don’t seem keen, don’t bother them!  They are another whole living being who should be able to choose when they get touched.

Dana – Thanks for showing me that video!!  I never thought to pick up a bun that way but I think it would have worked with Lenn and I’m sure I’ll be able to use it in the future for the next bun 😛  Unfortunately I was never really able to pet her except a touch or two when I was with her but I probably would’ve been able to work up to handplucking in the future 🙂

[Meg]

Thank you for your very kind words — and you sound like a truly wonderful bunny mom too!! 🙂  And a foster mom at that — you are awesome!  🙂  It’s such great news that Lenn has already been adopted.  Good work!

Haha, thanks!  The “stunt double” is a trick from bunny bonding, but it could be worth a try with humans too.  (Folks on here suggested I try that when I traveled, back in pre-Covid days, so that Teddy wouldn’t feel upset when I was gone.  His BFF passed on at age 10 and he’s used to me spending a ton of time with him now.)  I forget where I read about the “grooming” yourself thing, but it might have been the book “Rabbit Language: Or, Are You Going to Eat That?” which is fun.  And though I try to stop petting Teddy right away when he’s not keen, I don’t always succeed — he is SO FLUFFY!!! 😉  We are only human. 😉

One bunny communication thing I only just learned like a few months ago (probably from this forum) that I love is that you can grind your teeth at your bunny and sometimes they’ll respond!  Or if they start it, you can respond.  Sometimes Teddy and I go back and forth a few times with it and it’s so nice to have some sort of “language” with him.  I’ll try it when I’m petting him, and if he responds I know he’s feeling extra relaxed and happy. Or sometimes he’ll do it spontaneously just sitting there and then I can respond to acknowledge him. 🙂  (To do this, you just kind of roll your lower teeth against your upper teeth a couple times with your mouth closed, trying to mimic the bunny version.)  It’s so funny and great how bunnies are in a way willing to share their language with us.

DanaNM, I enjoyed your video too!  That’s a great technique, and I was a bit curious to see the person who’s been giving us advice on here all these years.  🙂  I was relieved to see you have a similar process to me when I’m trying to catch a bunny! 😉  I’ve always felt that mine are so much faster / cleverer than me, that when I catch them it’s only because they finally  decided to let themselves be caught. 😉

Thanks again!  🙂

[DanaNM]

Glad it was helpful to both of you! I’ve described that process to people a bunch so I decided to finally film it! Even with bunnies that run and hate being picked up, we try very hard not to chase them. Usually if you wait a bit they will settle and allow you to approach. Approaching from the side also helps. When I have more time I will usually sit in the pen with them for a bit and give a few treats before picking up as well, but in that instance we were in a bit of a hurry! You might also be happy to know that bunny was adopted recently after several years in the shelter. 🙂

. . . 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.  

[snowballsmomma]

Meg – Thank you Meg 🙂  And LOL I love that book title… I’m going to look it up!  And awww that’s super cute, I’m going to try that grinding teeth thing with my buns tonight!  It must be so nice to hear him reply to you with a little teeth grinding 🙂

Dana – Now that you say it like that, I think it makes so much more sense not to try to “chase” them but to try to let them settle first and hold them like you did in the video!  I still feel horrible for chasing Lenn when she was scared.  And omgosh several YEARS in the shelter?!  Yay congrats to that little bun!!!  I hope his/her new place is wonderful and is the bun’s furever home <3

[Meg]

Thank you so much, Snowball’s Momma and Dana!  🙂  You are the best. Yes, it’s so nice to feel like Teddy and I can “talk” to each other sometimes! 😀   And congratulations to this newly adopted bun!  I second Snowball’s Momma’s kind wishes.  🙂

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