I’ve had my 13-week-old Angora rabbit for about a month. I’ve tried to be as respectful as possible and introduce myself very slowly. I was thrilled last week when he began responding to the sound of my voice with what looked like happy bunny antics. But tonight a worry struck: what if he’s actually royally pissed off at me? It was hard to get a good answer through internet research so I am hoping to benefit from other boarders’ experience. I’ll try to give background information to frame the situation.
Bun has free roam of my two-bedroom apartment, except at night when he’s kept in the bathroom. He litter-trained quickly and his only accidents have been scattered pellets along the outside of his litter boxes. He lives with my cat and they get along fine, mostly keeping to themselves. He’s fed timothy hay and alfalfa pellets. I groom him once every three days and he does not enjoy the event.
When I first brought him home he was pretty much frozen in terror. After a few days he became comfortable with his initial contained area and started going about general bunny business around me as I studied. He never approached me, though, and would scurry away if I moved toward him.
After I gave him free range of the apartment I hardly saw him for a week – he was almost always under the beds. I spend a good portion of my day in the living room area and he hardly ever ventured out from the hallway. And when he did, he’d usually high-tail it at the slightest provocation and race back to a bedroom. During this time I tried to give him soft petting and ear scratching when I could, but he’d often run away from me as I approached.
Now he’s less shy and doesn’t run away (unless I’m obviously going to scoop him up) but it still seems like I only see him incidentally. When we happen to be in the same room, though, he’s extremely relaxed. He sniffs around me, chews on toys, and performs big flops and yawns when he tires.
But I’m confused by his behavior toward me and I’ve read conflicting things about what it could mean. First, I’m not sure if he likes being pet. He still hasn’t asked for it. I try to slowly introduce my hand for scratching his ears, but he typically ignores it until it’s pretty close to his face, then he sticks his nose out quickly (a lunge?), sniffs, and hops in the other direction. But since I want him to connect human contact to yummy ear-scratching (and not just stressful grooming) I continue to pet him without his consent. When I start scratching he puts his head down on the floor with his ears back and seems to zone out. Yesterday I thought I heard teeth grinding. After I finish he stays in that pose for a few second, then picks his head up and shakes it a little like he’s waking from a dream. I thought it was a sign he enjoyed it, but could it be that he’s too petrified to move while I’m touching him?
Second, I can’t tell whether his acrobatic stunts are fledgling binkies or angry kicking. Whatever they are, I recently noticed that they usually occur when I’m talking to him. (Yes, I babble like an idiot to the bun, I can’t help it.) He seems to become electrified with energy. He shakes his head a lot, jumps straight up in mid-air (no obvious twisting, though), and seems to kick out with his hind legs with every hop. He runs for little spurts but since the floor is hardwood I think serious running is hard for him. He also becomes intensely interested in his surroundings: periscoping, sniffing, and nibbling everything in sight. All of this happens around me, but he never runs directly to me. Also, the whites of his eyes show slightly (though they seem to all the time). I started worrying that he’s not pleased at the sound of my voice but stressed out or angry, since he might connect it to being picked up or groomed.
If anyone could shed any light on whether he’s warming up or completely terrified it would be so helpful. I don’t want to continue petting and talking to him if it’s upsetting. Thank you for reading!
Edit: I’m adding a screenshot of him during one of his acrobatic stunts. They happen so fast it’s hard to get a good shot!