Need help with first rabbit, she’s terrified of me :(

[Fenris.Wolf]

I bought my first rabbit a few days ago. Apparently before the person I bought her from had her, she spent most of her life in a rabbit breeding mill and so was not socialised or looked after very well.

When I was inspecting her I could hold her for extended periods, pick her up, put her down, pat her, whatever. She was really calm and relaxed. But as soon as I bought her home that all changed. She won’t let me pick her up or hold her, she just squirms and kicks and then runs away. She backs up into the corner of her little nesting box type thing inside her cage whenever I come near and I can’t coax her out, so I have to just sort of pull her out. I have a large cage on legs so I have to pick her up to let run around the house, but she just hates me picking her up now. Shes getting worse as well, she just looks scared all the time and won’t come near me at all. I feel really guilty that shes so scared of me, but I don’t know how to make her trust me…

Am I just over-reacting? Will she settle down eventually? 

[bpash89]

Give her time!!! It’s very stressful for bunnies when their environment changes so drastically. It will take her awhile to get comfortable with her new surroundings and to get comfortable with you. Rabbits generally don’t enjoy being picked up or held either. Bonding with your bunny will take time and patience. Sit on the floor with her and let you explore you on her terms. Try offering her treats (I usually use pellets because my bun loves loves loves her pellets and therefore I can feed her ‘treats’ more often since it’s good for her) and if she won’t eat from your hand maybe just set it next to you so she has to come near you to get it. The main thing is patience. Don’t try to rush it and make everything be on her terms and her time. Rabbits are naturally curious and once she stops viewing you as a threat she will be more open to approaching you.

Is there a way to rearrange her cage so you don’t have to pick her up all the time?

[Fenris.Wolf]

Thanks for the advice I think I might be trying to force her to like me instead of going at her pace and letting her decide. I’ll try that tomorrow. I’m just so worried that I scared her or something and now she won’t ever trust me. The only time that she’s come close to me so far was for some apple, but I don’t think I can give her much because of the sugar, right?

Unfortunately I can’t re-arrange the cage, I made it myself and so I welded it to the frame so no-one could knock it off or anything like that.

[Elrohwen]

The majority of bunnies hate to be picked up, so that’s totally normal. The reason she let you pick her up initially is because she was scared, but now she feels a bit more independent.

It can take new bunnies many months to bond with a person, or they can bond immediately. You just have to let it happen on their time. I’d recommend sitting on the floor with a book or your laptop, and just let her check you out. Don’t reach to pet her, and don’t pick her up unless you absolutely have to, and she will get comfortable with you over time.

If you absolutely can’t change the cage so she can get out on her own, I would use a box or a basket or even the litter box to lift her out. Most rabbits are more comfortable with sitting in a box and having it moved, then with being picked up.

[Chronicambitions]

How high off the ground is your cage? Bunnies really should be able to go in and out of their cages on their own. Is there any way at all that you can lower it so she can get out without you picking her up?
If not maybe you can create some type of stairs for her to get up and down.
Don’t pick her up unless you absolutely have to.

[Baxter n Boos Mom]

Unfortunately having to pick her up isn’t helping her anxiety levels…. so the other suggestions of a box or lowering the cage are excellent. It takes some buns time to get comfortable around their human family. My 1st bunny was comfortable with us within a week of us bringing him home. The second bun took months before he was comfortable enough to let us pet him. Each bun is different – but it’s worth the investment to build up that trust.

[LittlePuffyTail]

You need patience. Lots of patience. Bunnies are very wary of new people and new situations. They are prey animals, after all. It’s normal for them to be nervous. Spend lots of time at her level, such as sitting on the floor and watching TV. She will come around. A bunny in a bad situation (abused/neglected) will take even longer to learn to trust their new human. It may take weeks or months, you just need to give her time.

[Fenris.Wolf]

Thanks for all the advice! She’s gotten a lot better over the past few days and is learning to trust me more after I did all of the things you guys said. She comes out of her box now to eat food out of my hands and say hello, and doesn’t kick or fuss when I pick her up (well, not too much, anyway :p). I clipped her nails before and she didn’t even budge from my lap, even after they were done!

[LittlePuffyTail]

Sounds like your bunny is starting to bond with you. How wonderful.

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