Bunny Bonding with Strangers

[Tipsy Bunny]

 Hi, its me again.

I am wondering now, how to get my bun to be able to accept strangers, or if she can.  People that come to my apartment want to pet her so bad but she is so afraid of them.  Can I, with time, get her to accept strangers?

[bunnyfriend]

A lot of bunnies get stressed out around strangers. Once she bonds with you it may help or she just may never be comfortable around new people, especially since she was a lab bunny. Right now though let her come to people instead of having strangers go up to her and pet her. Let everything be on her terms, even with interactions with you. Try to avoid sticking your hand in her cage or petting her while she’s in there, her cage should be her own place she can go to and not be bothered, otherwise rabbits can become very territorial of their cages. The key thing here is time. Since you did recently adopt her she’s still settling in, I would hold off on stranger interaction for a while. Remember her experiences with people were probably not the best at the lab, and she really hasn’t been socialized.

[Tipsy Bunny]

I think thats how she has gotten well so quickly with me. For a couple days I would just sit on the ground with my computer of book of nothing and just watch her. I always leave her cage door open in case she feels threatened and needs a place to escape. (sorry I cant stop laughing and its making it difficult to focus… my bun got her first taste of romaine and she is going nuts for it and wont stop searching for the rest) Anyways, I am rather surprised that she isnt cage territorial because the researchers would ALWAYS stick their hands in to grab her. Thats how my professor got her out of the cage. Thank goodness she is a rather sane bunny, thus far.

[bunnyfriend]

That is definitely why (: Yeah I’ve never had a rabbit who was territorial of their cage, I know it is common though. Heehee they’re so cute when they eat!

[RabbitPam]

One way for her to tolerate visitors is if they have a treat in their hand. She may not let them pet her after getting a treat, but it will make her come over to them cautiously.

By treat I mean any small piece of food. From what you just described, I would let them have a sliver of romaine to let her grab from their fingers.

[Tipsy Bunny]

I love food sessions with her! She will now have a weekly grape, cause it is way to funny the noises she makes when she eats her grape! And she gets her romaine treat when she uses her potty!

That is a good idea RabbitPam!! I know she will do just about anything for romaine now.

[LoveChaCha]

Food is a great bribe!
It took a year and a half for my bunny to go up to my dad (I live with my dad). he ABSOLUTELY adores her, and now she dances around his feet every morning for food.

Also, them laying around will make your bun curious.

[Elrohwen]

I think it takes time and patience to get bunnies used to strangers. I find the more times I have house guests the more comfortable the bunnies get.

I’ve found that it’s really helpful to have the same guest (usually one quiet person) over for a few days. When a group of people show up for just a few hours the rabbits are likely to hide. When my mom visited for a week the bunnies were able to get to know her on their own time and within a day or two they were following her around. Now, each time we have new house guests they warm up even faster. They’re definitely not comfortable with big groups though – one or two quiet, calm people seems to work best. Giving my guests a few craisins to hand out works wonders too 😉

This weekend we had two friends over for a little more than 24 hours (much of which was spent out of the house). On Sunday morning the bunnies were already running around our friends and begging for treats. A few months ago they would’ve hid the whole time, but now it takes very little time for them to start harrassing new people the same way they harrass us for treats.

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