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The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet.  It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.

BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

Forum BEHAVIOR New Bunny!

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    • Oppa1995
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        Hello everyone, 

        I am new to the forums as well as a new rabbit owner! I recently adopted a Lion Headed Rabbit and I (and my roommates) have fallen in love! We actually have adopted this bunny from a family (do not get me started on my feelings towards these people) They have neglected the poor thing and from what I can tell she is very malnourished (which I am working on fixing) and very very timid. 

        Quite frankly she was a gift to me, I was inspired to adopt her to provide a safer and better home, although a university student my time will be given to this beautiful creature like you cannot believe. 

        My question is, How do I get about getting this 1 year old Rabbit to come to trust me? She is just sitting in the corner of her cage breathing quite quickly and twitching her nose (to the best of my research I have found that this is an indication of nervousness). Ideally I would love to just pick her up and stroke her so she knows she is in a place that will care for her, but that may not be the most ideal thing to do! 

        My question is, what should I do? Her cage is the same one from home, and I told them that they should not fully clean the cage before giving her to me as the scent of herself should serve as a comfort.

        Should I just sit around her? Will she begin to get more comfortable? I am worried she won’t eat or drink! 

        Any tips would be greatly appreciated

        Thank you all in advance  

        Have a wonderful day


      • Sarita
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        18851 posts Send Private Message

          Moving to behavior.


        • rabbyrabby
          Participant
          25 posts Send Private Message

            Congratulations on your new bunny!
            And congratulations to your new bunny for her new owner!

            You’ve come to the right place for your question, there are many experienced veteran posters here who will provide you with precise and proper answers.

            Unfortunately I am not one of those experienced folks, but since I’m just about rounding out a month of being a bunny owner for the first time, perhaps my unqualified thoughts will be helpful to you nonetheless.

            1.  I think the first thing you want to do is find out whether your rabbit has been spayed.  The same rabbit depending on whether it’s been altered or not will be a completely different animal.  

            Since you have a female, it is highly recommended that you have your bunny spayed.  The cancer rate with regard to female reproductive systems in rabbits is a crazy high number.  Spaying her will eradicate the chance of that particular problem and will increase her longevity.  It’ll also calm and relax her hormonal inclinations.

            If she’s already been altered, great!

            2.  As to whether you should keep her original cage as is.

            I personally brought my bunny home in a box full of hay, bedding, water, and I’m sure a whole ton of new scents.  I didn’t have a choice though, the seller didn’t provide me with anything (not even an accurate age, even though he was born right in her rabbitry…)

            I will speculate though, that at some point, it’s worth cleaning the cage.  Both for her health and the general cleanliness of the environment.

            Having her getting used to new scents and smells might make her uncomfortable, but then again, it might not.  I think it really depends on the rabbit.  But obviously, at some point, she’s going to have to associate her new home with the new smells.

            3.  As to how to interact with her.

            My bunny was intensely scared of me.  In fact, he was the most scared little bunny at the rabbitry.  I did what I wasn’t supposed to and skipped the friendlier, braver bunnies and picked him out because I felt sympathetic toward how afraid he was.

            I’d like to think we’ve bonded quite well.  He’s no longer scared and let’s me hold and touch him all I want without any resistance.  But before we get into this, there’s something you need to do and/or understand.

            4.  Make an educated and realistic assessment of your rabbit’s personality.

            This is extremely important, and might be hard to do right now.  Keep in mind your bunny is a prey animal and will be naturally defensive and mistrusting.  If rabbits weren’t as cautious as they are, they’d have gone extinct many years ago.  Some rabbits are shy, others are really friendly. 

            For the time being, your rabbit will be a bit scared, understandably.  My bunny, for the first day or two, avoided me at all costs, and stayed inside his makeshift hut.  If you do get a hut, I think one with open sides is best.  If your rabbit can hide from you all day and night without having to see you, or you seeing it, then I think it could delay the bonding.

            Make sure she can see you.  Eventually she will realize that although you are a scary predator, that you aren’t interested in eating her. 

            Some rabbits like being held.  Others don’t.  Just because your rabbit doesn’t like being held, it doesn’t mean that she doesn’t like you!

            5.  Back to how to interact with her.

            I would situate her cage with all her furnishings including unlimited hay and clean water, but don’t put the yummy treats in her cage.  Animals learn through association.  She will probably associate you with a predator at first.  That is her natural instinct, and she is rather correct, humans are scary predators. 

            I even withheld the small amount of pellets I give to my bunny.  No, don’t starve your rabbit, if she isn’t eating out of your hand, then make sure she has access to it where she can eat it alone.  But eventually she will eat out of your hand and she will associate your hand, and more importantly, YOU, with treats and yummy stuff.  That is how you might be able to break the ice, get her to come out of her shell.

            Once she does, you may be able to make a more accurate assessment of her personality type.  Once she isn’t afraid of you, she may even become curious of you.

            At some point, rabbit proof an area where her cage is.  Leave the door to her cage open.  Put some treats near you (make sure she knows you have them, keep them in your fist and let her sniff it.)  In the area, sit down and just start doing homework or do whatever you do on your computer.  When she’s ready, she may approach you.  A prey animal approaching a predator out of curiosity is a huge step, but it has to be on her terms.

            Soon enough she may be crawling all over you!  Mine climbs up on my shoulders.  I don’t appreciate the bunny butt in my face, but I do appreciate the attention.

            If she can approach you without fear, then try giving her pets.  Rabbits like being stroked.  Rabbits like to groom each other, and so, it’s possible when you pet your rabbit she thinks she’s being groomed and she will appreciate it.

            6.  Final words.

            Just keep in mind there’s no definitive time-frame for all of these things.  Depending on her past owners, she may be very distrusting of you.  You just have to be patient!

            I would also like to take the time to reiterate that my opinion is very much unqualified by any experience.  I am a new bunny owner, much like you, and just sharing my experience.  If my experience was going poorly, I wouldn’t feel inclined to share my thoughts, but since it seems like my bunny is having a great time, I feel like I am not giving you bad information.

            Good luck!  And congratulations again!


          • Oppa1995
            Participant
            6 posts Send Private Message

              Thank you very much for the detailed response!

              Surprisingly, this little ball of mischief is getting along with us quite well! Although she didn’t leave her cage much the first 6-7 hours, she would occasionally poke her head out of it and sniff the air. She is eating and drinking perfectly well and going to the bathroom (sparing the gross details) in a way which does not indicate nervousness. I am learning quickly though that I will need to replace her bowl with something heavier as she really likes to knock it off her shelf and wear it as a hat…

              It was sort of funny, last night myself and my 3 other roommates were all sitting on the floor talking and Jessica Lange (My Rabbit, don’t judge me on the name for those of you who knew who Jessica Lange is) hopped out of her cage and into the middle of us as we sat. She went up to each of us and sniffed our hands, clothes and feet (starting to play with one of my roommates socks actually). I sort of felt good because she eventually stopped, looked at me and jumped right into my lap and started to climb my legs.

              I guess the only other question I have no is in regard to her cage. Currently Jessica has a shelf in her cage which her food is on and which she seems to like to hop onto and just lay down and sleep. When she is scared she runs underneath it and due to the cage coming up around the sides 1/4 of the way as plastic, she can remain hidden. Should I invest in a hutch for her? Or is what she doing fine? Also, I would appreciate some suggestions as to toys that she could use to play with and keep herself entertained!

              Thanks for any more advice you can give!


            • litheandgraphic
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              608 posts Send Private Message

                Hello and welcome to the forums and to the wonderful world of bunnies!

                rabbyrabby gave some great tips for you!

                I’m glad to hear that she seems to be already willing to explore you guys, and great job letting her come to you instead of scooping her up right away. The fact of the matter is that most rabbits absolutely hate being picked up – the only time they’re getting picked up off the ground in the wild is when they’re about to be someone’s lunch! So do try and avoid this as much as possible for right now. The way you’re interacting with her right now is absolutely perfect.

                By the way, rabbits for some reason love feet – there’s a theory out there that suggests that they like to smell where you’ve been – and some of them, like my Theodore, will occasionally nibble gently at toes and feet. It’s not a bad bite, but you may just want to watch your toes.

                I’m going to suggest that you read all of the information on http://www.rabbit.org, if you haven’t done so already. This is the House Rabbit Society website and they have excellent information on every topic you’d need to know! Extremely helpful! It’s also good to know if you have a local HRS chapter, which can be found with a simple Google search.

                As for housing, hutches are generally discouraged unless they are greatly modified and include extra space. Additonally, hutches often have wire flooring, which is bad for their feet and can cause “sore hocks”.

                Rabbits require 12 sq. ft. minimum to be healthy and happy. Some people have smaller enclosures / cages for their rabbits but allow them to basically free roam otherwise, so they get plenty of exercise. Exercise is essential for bunnies, of course! The two best options for housing are x-pens and NIC condos. X-pens are great for horizontal space, and NIC condos are a great alternative if you don’t have too much room – the bunnies can get plenty of vertical exercise, too! But of course, she should still get tons of out time with you, too.

                Here’s an example of an x-pen: http://www.sandiegorabbits.org/sites/default/files/content/page/images/cages-pens/square_pen_alison.jpg
                Here’s an example of an NIC condo: https://binkybunny.com/wp-content/uploads/converted_files/Portals/0/activeforums_Attach/003_P1180388_(640×480).jpg

                If you get an x-pen, you’ll want to make sure it’s 36″ tall or higher. Bunnies don’t have a reputation for jumping for nothing!

                As rabbyrabby suggested, getting her spayed is a top priority. This will help with any potential behavioral issues that could otherwise develop in the future, and more importantly, it will greatly reduce her otherwise very high chances of getting reproductive cancers. Since she’s already 1 year old, she can have this done right away.

                As for environment and toys, she will definitely need somewhere to hide and feel safe, like she does now. This can be provided by way of a shelf, a box, or anything that she can feel safely covered up and out of sight.

                A quick, general note on diet, too: her diet should be 85% Timothy hay, 10% fresh greens (check the BB veggie list here for safe veggies; you want to give at least three different types of low-oxalic greens each day, 1 cup per 3 lbs of bunny: https://binkybunny.com/BUNNYINFO/VeggieList/tabid/144/Default.aspx – slowly introduce each veggie and make sure her digestive system is responding all right, if it is not, remove the veggie and try another), and 5% (1/4th cup – 1/8th cup per day) Timothy hay pellets with no weird mix-ins. Just plain old, pure Timothy hay pellets.

                Toys come in all different shapes, sizes, and materials. Things you’ll definitely want to provide her with are wooden chew toys of some kind, or willow sticks / willow basket. The chew toys are important for their front teeth. Otherwise, you can try tunnels, cardboard boxes (free of any tape or a lot of ink), plastic baby keys, hay balls, treat balls, etc. If you’re not sure whether or not something is safe, feel free to ask in the Habitats & Toys section of the forum!

                Welcome again!

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            Forum BEHAVIOR New Bunny!