Tips on bonding a “difficult” bun?

[Quartz]

What if your long-term bun happens to be difficult and throws tantrums when things are “out of order”?  The new rabbit is on the contrary very nice and yielding.  The first bun seems to be a general difficult case for any new rabbit to fit in.

Basically my first bun has been with us for a year and is still not what I’d call in any way “snuggly”.  He only grooms our pillows and sheets, only very rarely does he lick our clothes while we’re petting him.  Sometimes he is very much interested in being petted (on the floor next to him, mind you, never by coming up to us himself for it) and clearly truly enjoys it, and at other times he’s very stand-offish, will push our hands away demonstratively with his nose or forehead, will hop a foot or two away and turn his back to us or sit sideways like “don’t bother me”.  He’s clearly a happy enough bun in his own world and clearly loves us, but he has issues with being affectionate.  

Which brings me to the current situation when I’m trying to bond him to a friend, who happens to be a VERY nice rabbit, behaviorally-speaking: very friendly, a bit timid, loves cuddling, not territorial.  Perfectly yielding to my first rabbit so far.

Their pens are next to each other.  New rabbit is curious about mine and behaves in a nice non-problematic fashion, just minding his own business.  My bun is clearly affected by the arrival of the new rabbit and the new pen being where there wasn’t one before.  He spends more time around his pen (normally he free roams and spends a good amount of time in other rooms).  He’s clearly more irritable now, and sometimes throws mini tantrums by biting his pen bars or pulling at them to make noise.  Otherwise his personality is very low-key.  He spends a lot of time flopped somewhere.

I’d love some tips on how to bond such “difficult” bunnies.  I will probably have to do the banana method at some point, as I fear my bun will just not be interested in grooming the other bun.  Are there any other things I should or should not do?  I already try to make sure he doesn’t see me give too much affection to the new rabbit, because I fear it’s making him a bit jealous.

[ThumpsGirl]

Rabbits are typically solitary animals. It is likely your bun does not like the new play pal. I would not suggest letting them interact with one another.

Regarding how to bond with your bun more – I had this same problem with my rabbit. After doing some online research, I found an article talking about the signs your rabbit gives you and what they mean. The article mentions that rabbits will often circle you and throw their ears/head around when they are playing – this is something you can do with your rabbit. Circle your rabbit or simply make eye contact with your rabbit while flipping your hair (if it is in a ponytail, it is even better). This signals to the bunny you wish to play. I do this with my rabbit all the time! It may take a few times of you flicking your hair, but eventually the bun should flick their ears back at you (they also flick their ears when they are happy).

[sarahthegemini]

Posted By ThumpsGirl on 6/01/2017 8:20 PM

Rabbits are typically solitary animals. It is likely your bun does not like the new play pal. I would not suggest letting them interact with one another.

Regarding how to bond with your bun more – I had this same problem with my rabbit. After doing some online research, I found an article talking about the signs your rabbit gives you and what they mean. The article mentions that rabbits will often circle you and throw their ears/head around when they are playing – this is something you can do with your rabbit. Circle your rabbit or simply make eye contact with your rabbit while flipping your hair (if it is in a ponytail, it is even better). This signals to the bunny you wish to play. I do this with my rabbit all the time! It may take a few times of you flicking your hair, but eventually the bun should flick their ears back at you (they also flick their ears when they are happy).

That is completely incorrect. Rabbits are social 

I would focus a lot on pre bonding. 

[Author]

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