Need advice on adopted Rabbit

[missysmilea]

Hello, new here and new bunny owner as of Christmas! After years of begging from my now 6 year old daughter and months of research on my part, we adopted a 3 year old Holland Lop Buck. He’s adorable and very sweet. But… I am realizing I still have a lot to learn. 

The previous owner had him since birth and came from a home with no children. She suggested we introduce him to the family slowly, and so he has been mostly in his cage covered with a towel so he can get used to the noise (per her suggestion). The first few days (before Christmas) he stayed at my mom’s home where it was very quiet and he used his litter box great. Since coming home with us, he has stopped using the litter box. The few times I have let him out he has been very curious and very cuddly, but also likes to nip our ankles and waist. (she said he did this a lot playfully if he liked you) Then a couple of days ago, he was running around with the whole family and my youngest, a toddler, was making some noise and I think it scared him. I went to get him gently to put him in his cage and he bit me on my hand- something the previous owner said he had never ever done.  It wasn’t a terrible bite- it was more like a paper cut with no bleeding. But it still really hurt. It kind of broke my heart and now I wonder if I have lost his trust? I am his main care-taker. 

What is the best way to introduce a bunny to a toddler? Is it possible for them to develop a good relationship? I’m hoping someone has experience with this. 

Also- he is not neutered. When would be good time to take him in? I’m assuming after he is used to our family? 

I want this to work out SO badly for our family. He’s already brought us so much happiness. Any advice I could get would be very much appreciated!

Thanks,

Marissa

[LBJ10]

Congrats on your new bunny! Yep, bunnies are definitely not considered a good children’s pet. However, if you are the main caregiver and you teach your children how to interact with him appropriately, you shouldn’t have any problems. I know there are plenty of people on BB with young kids and bunnies under one roof.

Introducing him slowly may be a good idea. If you are the main caregiver, then you should be the main person interacting with him to start. When introducing him to your kids, you should have them sit quietly on the floor. Explain to them that bunnies don’t like to be picked up and that you need to be very gentle with them. Depending on how your kids are (and you would know them best), you might want to limit their interaction with him. Screaming and squealing can definitely be upsetting for a new bun that isn’t used to such noises. So I don’t blame him for being scared.

Unfortunately, I don’t have any personal experience with this. However, my nephew is (to put it nicely) a very active kid. He just turned 4. But my brother-in-law and sister-in-law have done a very good job of teaching him how he needs to interact with their very small dogs. For being as energetic as he is, he is surprisingly gentle with them. So a relationship is possible, although I would recommend any interaction be supervised.

I would get him neutered as soon as you can. It will help with his territorial marking (i.e. not using the litter box). In the meantime, make sure you are doing all the litter training basics with him such as limiting his space and cleaning up any accidents right away (and putting them back in the litter box).

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Welcome and Congratulations!!

I think the first thing to do is get him neutered, this should have significant impact on the nipping, chasing and litter behavior.

I have no experience introducing a young family member, but I would make sure your kids know not to pick him up-he could easily be dropped and this would set you back and/or he could be injured. I would maybe do quiet interactions when your kids are well behaved and not too tired or too excited, maybe homework time would be good, have the kids sit down on the ground and otherwise engage in another activity and let the bunny loose in the room so he can hide or approach them. With many sessions he’s sure to learn to trust them and approach.

[Deleted User]

Hi Missy,

I am no sure if my experience is as useful to you since your bunny is already 3 years old and mine were just babies when I got them, but my little rabbits have gotten used to just about every noise and nuisance you can imagine. I have a little dachshund who just goes crazy walking around with them when they have free time, and he is all in their business, but he does not bite or really chase them, just gets excited. My rabbits show no fear of him, and mostly just ignore him. Although I often do keep him in a bathroom when the rabbits are running around just so they can be totally stress free. 

They also are used to the tv, the door opening and closing and other kinds of things that can be bothersome to such a sensitive creature. With a lot of time and patience, I think it is likely that your rabbit will adjust. Hope this helps

[Deleted User]

Hey Marissa – bugga! Like everyone else, no small kids here… But I may have the next best thing? My adult son is very child like and ‘loud’ having Down Syndrome. When our Henry was bought home, as terrible as this may sound I treated my son like a child with Henry. I got him to sit on the floor to nurse him, told him ‘not’ to pick him up, approach him quietly if wanted to pat him (Henry ran away), and most importantly, don’t chase him! I’m not sure if he understood any of that, (lol!), but with our supervision along with bunny common sense and my bunny rules – Henry now lays on the floor under the dining table next to my son while he eats his dinner every night. He can pat him no different to us being to able to and hangs out with him if Henry’s mood allows? The best rule is – don’t pick him up, Henry just doesn’t like it full stop. Henry got used to our son under our restrictions, and he now doesn’t give him a second thought. Sadly, kids get excited loudly (I sure as hell did! ha hah! But quietly,) and that’s what scares our bunnies. Try and calm the kids for interaction along with simple rules – no chasing and picking up, let him come to you, and I’m sure with time it will work out. You’ll be a super happy bunny family! All the best, Henry’s mum.

Edit/Add – I have a couple of pics of Henry with Blair (my son) at the dining table in my profile if you wanna have a look. Yes, he has adult legs, but as I said, he is very child like. (I’m guessing you know the ‘Wiggles’? We named Henry before he came home and Blair was super excited! Till Henry came home and he wasn’t an Octopus!). Blair is the Wiggle’s longest running fan – 22 years! Gotta laugh!

[MyBunnyPepper]

Congrats on the bunny!
We are all over 16 in our house, but we are a pretty loud household anyway(me, my sis, and parents). The pooping outside the litterbox is normal since ALL rabbits do it. Don’t be discouraged. And a bunny will bite (or nip) if he’s scared or upset. My rabbit does it on occasion, but its not to hurt me, its more to say “I wasn’t aware you were gonna do that!”. But it would be good to teach your children how to handle him. The best thing to do is have the family sit on the floor quietly, have your bunny out with you, and let him walk around, and don’t grab at him. He needs to feel safe. If and when you do go to pick him up, move slowly, so he understands your not after him(Its also a good thing if he’s looking at you when you do). Just be sure that any interaction your children have with him is calm and quiet(and supervised) until he is used to them, and they learn how to handle him. My bunnies (a male and a female) both adjusted pretty quick. They were 8 wks old when we got them, and adjusted quickly. They are now almost 2 yrs old and have gotten use to my dogs even!
I hope everthing works out for you!

[Eepster]

I have a 7yo. Our bunny Porky is “his” bunny, but my husband and I do all bunny care. We’ve had Porky since my son was 5yo.

Our kid is not allowed to pick up the bunny. This is a hard and fast rule that eliminates almost all problems.

Porky isn’t a nipper, but sometimes while grooming us will pull our clothing with his teeth (I think he’s trying to unmatt our “fur.”) While doing this he can pinch the skin and it hurts. My son’s solution to this is to strip down to his briefs when he pets and plays with Porky. Another solution is to keep teeth distracted with a treat.

Porky always has his condo open when he’s playing with our son. This way if Porky is unhappy or over whelmed, he can just hop back into his condo to escape our son. Our son also mush wait for Porky to exit his condo voluntarily, this is part of the nopicking up the bunny rule.

Good ways our son has bonded with his bunny are offering treats, reading books to, and playing music to Porky. Especially when my son was younger, he needed an activity to do with Porky to keep them both calm.

Litter habits have been very location dependent with Porky. He has great habits at home where his litterbox is in his favorite spot in his condo, but when ever he goes to my dad or the vet, he doesn’t stick to the box. A big part of getting Porky’s excellent litter habits was moving the box to the spot he liked to use, and not trying to convince him to stop using that spot. Basically we met him half way.

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