How do i get my bunnies to like me?!

[Misskaruhl]

i just want to cuddle with my babies!!! I adopted them on Saturday and they just won’t let me hold them. How soon will they let me hold them? I tried and they freaked out!!!! I got the lesson on how to hold them…. I don’t want to hurt them, but now I’m scared I’ve permanently pissed them off.

 

HELPPPPPPPPP!

[Sarita]

Rabbits don’t like to be cuddled and held. The best thing is to get down on the ground and let them come to you. Don’t reach out when they come near though, they’ll just run off. They need to get used to you and trust you. Have patience :~)

[Emmie]

I was the same when I got Zelda. I’ve only had her since Monday. She doesn’t like being picked up at all. She’ll let me, but she won’t be happy about it.

Then I discovered if I lay on the floor and watched tv she would come up to me and investigate. Now she adores jumping on my back and snuggling between my legs.

Patience is the key here, just don’t try pick them up for a little while. They need time to adapt.

[brittbritt]

Gabby hates being picked up. It really makes her mad and she tried to jump down as soon as I pick her up. I either get on the floor where we can be at her level and she’ll come up for lovins’ or I’ll sit on the couch and she’ll jump up and sit by me or climb up me.

[Monkeybun]

Yep, beign picked up and cuddled isn’t really a thing bunnies typically enjoy doing. they are much happier to hang out on the floor to play

[LoveChaCha]

Rabbits hate being held. It is just needed when nail trims and grooms are done, or if you feel something is terribly wrong with them. It is really hard to resist, but to them, they think we are gonig to eat them, so that is how they react – running away, lunging, grunting, etc.

Just ignore them. Really I’m on the floor in my room and my bunny came up to me while I am typing this. She is super curious to what the slave is doing on this weird thing the humans call laptops

It takes time.. trust us

[OskarAnnie]

I have two rabbits, my first rabbit Oskar HATES being held, but loves being petted as soon as he lies down. When I adopted my new rabbit, Annabelle, she was terrified of people and human contact so I had to get her to trust her surroundings. It took her a couple of weeks to get used to me, and it took time for her to come out and explore when I was on the ground (she saw Oskar doing it, so I think she thought it was okay). Suddenly, she began begging to get pet, now she hops onto my lap and demands being pet until she’s satisfied with it. (Oskar started doing the same too, so now it’s like I have two lap rabbits)

It takes time, and it takes trust. Let your rabbit come to you!

[Emmie]

I think I got really lucky with Zelda, she’s extremely curious and refuses to leave my side when I’m at home.

I didn’t pick her up unless I needed to. I tried to handle her as often as I could, just spent time with her on the floor and we’ve bonded very quickly

It all takes time!

[Lani]

When I first brought my bun home about a month ago, she’s was pretty skiddish and agressive. I spent a lot of time lying on the floor and ignoring her, waiting for her to come to me for pets. Sometimes I’d put a small treat near me to encourage her to come to me and associate me with good things. After several weeks of doing this, she now will just come up to me and demand attention and pets. If I lie on the floor and am using my laptop, she’ll even come plop herself on the keyboard so I HAVE to acknowledge her   She will let me cuddle her as long as she’s on the floor and I’m just lying next to her. She’s only let me pick her up once when she managed to climb on some furniture and scared herself because she couldn’t figure out how to jump or climb back down. She let me pick her up easily then but once the she realized the floor was an acceptable jumping distance, she started squirming and grunting to be put down. She has not let me pick her up any other time

In contrast, I’ve had buns before that looooved being picked up and would cuddle in my arms for hours if I let them. Rabbits like this are the exception to the rule I think. The key is to take the time to learn your rabbits personalities and be willing to accept that they may never enjoy being picked up for cuddles. But if you are patient and interact with them on their level, they can be great cuddlers that way too

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